Armed groups and militias
Somali National Alliance (SNA)
The Somali National Alliance was a coalition formed at Bardere on 16 June 1992 by General Mohamed Farrah Aidid's wing of the United Somali Congress, the Somali Patriotic Movement, the Somali Democratic Movement and the Southern Somali National Movement. Aidid was elected chairman in August 1992. It fought UNOSOM II from June to October 1993. After Aidid's death in 1996 his son Hussein led it. It became the core of the SRRC in 2001 and was folded into the Transitional National Government in 2002.
In short
The Somali National Alliance (SNA) was the coalition built around Mohamed Farrah Aidid in the years after 1991. It should not be confused with the Somali National Army, which uses the same initials. This page records its history from the sources, without taking sides.
Formation, 1992
On 16 June 1992 four armed movements met at Bardere and formed the alliance: Aidid's wing of the United Somali Congress, a wing of the Somali Patriotic Movement, the Somali Democratic Movement and the Southern Somali National Movement. The earlier Somali Liberation Army became its armed wing. On 10 August 1992 Aidid was elected its first chairman; a council of elders held much of the decision-making power (Wikipedia, Somali National Alliance).
The war with UNOSOM II, 1993
On 5 June 1993 an attack on Pakistani peacekeepers in Mogadishu killed 25 soldiers; the UN Security Council's resolution 837 that followed led to open conflict between the SNA and UNOSOM II, which ended after the battle of 3–4 October 1993 (Wikipedia). The UN's side of these events, and the record of who was killed, is told in The UN intervention, 1992–1995. On 21 September 1993 US forces captured Aidid's financier Osman Ali Atto (Wikipedia, Osman Ali Atto).
The split, 1995–1996
In June 1995 an SNA congress removed Aidid as chairman and chose Osman Ali Atto; later that month Aidid declared himself president of Somalia (Wikipedia). The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, citing Africa Confidential, recorded that the two men fell out over setting up sharia courts (IRB, 12 December 1997, via ecoi.net). When Aidid died in August 1996, the Associated Press reported that his faction held about half of south Mogadishu and Atto's forces the other half (Spokesman-Review, AP, 2 August 1996).
In September 1995 SNA forces took Baidoa; the Rahanweyn Resistance Army was formed that October to oppose them and took the town back in June 1999 (Wikipedia, Rahanweyn Resistance Army).
Hussein Aidid and the end of the alliance, 1996–2002
After his father's death Hussein Farrah Aidid was elected leader. In 1997 he signed the Cairo agreement with Ali Mahdi Muhammad's Somali Salvation Alliance; Wikipedia records that it later broke down. In 2001 the SNA became the core of the Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council, which opposed the Transitional National Government. After talks in Kenya, the transitional assembly voted on 20 January 2002 to fold the SNA into the government, and the alliance was dissolved that year (Wikipedia). See Rebuilding, 1991–1999 and 2000–2006.
Sources differ
- Who led it in 1995–1996. The June 1995 congress chose Atto; Aidid rejected this and declared himself president (Wikipedia).
- Why the Cairo agreement broke down. Wikipedia attributes this to Ethiopian pressure on the Somali Salvation Alliance; the sources read for this page give no other account.
Read the primary sources yourself
Sources
- Wikipedia, Somali National Alliance · en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, Osman Ali Atto · en.wikipedia.org
- IRB, 12 December 1997, via ecoi.net · ecoi.net
- Spokesman-Review, AP, 2 August 1996 · spokesman.com
- Wikipedia, Rahanweyn Resistance Army · en.wikipedia.org
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Read the callWhere this matters
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Baydhabo (Baidoa) and BayBay is a farming region in South West State, with Baidoa (Baydhabo) as its main city and about 1.25 to 1.8 million people.
- Garbahaarrey (Garbaharey) and GedoGedo is the south-western region on the borders with Kenya and Ethiopia, with Garbahaarrey as its capital and about 1 million people.
- Kismaayo (Kismayo) and Lower JubaLower Juba is the far southern region on the border with Kenya, with the port city of Kismayo (Kismaayo) as its capital and about 1.2 million people.
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- United Somali Congress (USC), 1989–2003The USC, 1989–2003: founding in Rome, Aidid's military wing, the fall of Mogadishu in 1991, the Ali Mahdi and Aidid wings, and what became of them.
- Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), 1985–2004The SPM, 1985–2004: origins, army defections in 1990, the Jess and Morgan wings, Kismayo, the 1998 Jubaland project, and later groups.
- Somali National Front (SNF), 1991–2001The SNF, 1991–2001: who formed it, its leaders, the 1991–92 campaign, Gedo, relations with Ethiopia and al-Itihaad, and its merger into the TNG.
- Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA), 1995–2004The RRA, 1995–2004: founding at Jhaffey, the taking of Huddur and Baidoa, Ethiopian support, the 2002 South West State and split, and the move into the TFG.
- Somali Democratic Movement (SDM)The Somali Democratic Movement, the Digil and Mirifle movement founded in 1989: its place in the Somali National Alliance, the 1993 Baidoa congress and council, and its successor, the RRA.
- Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI), 1983–1997Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, 1983–1997: founding, leaders, Bosaso and Luuq, war with Ethiopia, the end of its armed wing, and the people who went on to later movements.