Armed groups and militias
Somali National Front (SNF), 1991–2001
The Somali National Front (SNF) was an armed movement formed in early 1991, after the fall of Siad Barre's government, largely from army units loyal to him and with support mainly from the Marehan. It held much of the south-west in 1991, was pushed out of Bay and Lower Juba by April 1992, and then held Gedo for most of the decade. It joined the Transitional National Government in 2001.
In short
The Somali National Front was formed after the government fell in January 1991. Unlike the four older movements, it grew from forces that had served the fallen government. Wikipedia describes it as made up largely of loyal remnants of the national army, splinters of the Somali Democratic Movement and supporters of Siad Barre, with support mainly from the Marehan, his own clan (Wikipedia, Somali National Front). The four older movements are covered in The armed movements against military rule, 1978–1991.
Leaders
- General Omar Haji Mohamed "Masale", a former defence minister, was its political and militia leader for most of the 1990s. Human Rights Watch called him "the undisputed leader" in 1994 (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, via ecoi.net, 1995).
- General Mohamed Hashi Gani led its military wing from Luuq in Gedo (Wikipedia).
- General Mohamed Said Hersi "Morgan" fought alongside SNF forces in Gedo in 1993, while reports at the time also called him an SPM leader (IRB Canada, 1995).
In March 1992 Siad Barre and General Hashi Gani publicly criticised each other before television crews, which Wikipedia records as a sign of division inside the movement (Wikipedia).
The campaign of 1991–1992
- March–April 1991. Heavy fighting with the United Somali Congress. The SNF lost Kismayo and fell back to Bardera and Gedo (Wikipedia).
- November 1991–March 1992. It moved back into areas it had lost, while its opponents fought each other in Mogadishu. At its height it held parts of Bay, Gedo, Middle and Lower Juba and Lower Shabelle (same source). The Library of Congress records the USC split that made this possible (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study).
- April 1992. Forces led by General Aidid pushed it back. Siad Barre left Somalia through the Kenyan border on 27 April 1992 (Wikipedia). See Siad Barre and United Somali Congress.
Gedo, 1992–1999
For most of the 1990s the SNF governed and operated in Gedo. Around 1992 it backed a sharia court in Luuq district. Wikipedia records fighting in August 1996 near Mandera between SNF forces, supported by Ethiopian helicopters, and al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, during which the Kenyan town of Mandera was hit (Wikipedia). In 1994 the SNF took part in reconciliation conferences in Gedo and Bay (same source).
In the late 1990s it divided into groups that supported Ethiopia and groups that opposed it; in June 1999 some SNF forces fought the Ethiopian army. The same year a coalition, the Allied Somali Forces (later the Juba Valley Alliance), took much of Gedo from it (same source).
Into the TNG, 2001
In June 2001 the SNF merged into the Transitional National Government formed at Arta (Wikipedia). The years that followed are covered in 2000–2006: Transitional governments and the rise of the courts.
Sources differ
- Founding date. March 1991 in most accounts; some say only "shortly after" the government fell.
- Who led it. Contemporary reports gave different leaders for different years and areas; the IRB Canada review collects several of them.
Read the primary sources yourself
- Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, "Information on the Somali National Front (SNF) since 1994" (1995): ecoi.net.
- Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study (1993): Disintegration.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Somali National Front · en.wikipedia.org
- Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, via ecoi.net, 1995 · ecoi.net
- Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study · countrystudies.us
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Read the callWhere this matters
- Marka (Merca) and Lower ShabelleLower Shabelle is Somalia's biggest farming region, along the Shabelle river south-west of Mogadishu, with Marka (Merca) as its capital and about 835,000 to…
- 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.
- Bu'aale (Buale) and Middle JubaMiddle Juba is a farming region on the Juba river in the south, with about 447,000 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.
- 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 National Alliance (SNA)The Somali National Alliance, 1992–2002: how it was formed, its member factions, the war with UNOSOM II, the split with Osman Atto, Hussein Aidid's leadership and its end.
- 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.