# Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), 1985–2004 > The SPM, 1985–2004: origins, army defections in 1990, the Jess and Morgan wings, Kismayo, the 1998 Jubaland project, and later groups. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/institutions/somali-patriotic-movement/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## In short The SPM was one of the four main armed movements that ended the military government; its part in that story is told in [The armed movements against military rule, 1978–1991](/en/history/armed-movements-1978-1991/). This page follows the movement from its founding to its last years, when its fighters and its area passed to new groups in Jubaland. ## Founding The Library of Congress records that the SPM was formed in 1985 from a split within the SSDF, with support mainly from the Ogaden clan. Many Ogaden were unhappy with the 1988 peace agreement between [Somalia and Ethiopia](/en/relations/ethiopia/) ([Library of Congress, *Somalia: A Country Study*](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/73.htm)). See [Somali Salvation Democratic Front](/en/institutions/somali-salvation-democratic-front/). Wikipedia dates its active armed life to 1989 to 2004 and names its founding commanders as Colonel Shukri Weyrah Kariye and Colonel Bashir Bililiqo. Its headquarters were at [Bu'aale](/en/regions/middle-juba/) (1989–1991), Kismayo (1991–1999) and Dhobley (1999–2004) ([Wikipedia, Somali Patriotic Movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Patriotic_Movement)). ## The army defections of 1990 In 1990 many Ogaden officers left the national army and joined the SPM. The Library of Congress records that this greatly increased its strength, and that SPM forces then took and held several government garrisons in the south ([Library of Congress](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/73.htm)). In August–September 1990 the SPM agreed with the SNM and Aidid's wing of the USC to coordinate their campaigns ([Library of Congress](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/74.htm)). Shortly before the government fell, SPM fighters took the [Baledogle](/en/institutions/us-military-in-somalia/) air base (Wikipedia). ## Two wings after 1991 After the government fell, the SPM refused to accept the provisional government named by the USC in Mogadishu ([Library of Congress](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/75.htm)). It then divided along clan lines into two wings ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Patriotic_Movement)): - **The Absame wing (SPM/SNA)**, led by Colonel [Ahmed Omar Jess](/en/people/ahmed-omar-jess/) and Gedi Ugas Madhar. On 12 August 1992 it joined [General Aidid](/en/people/mohamed-farrah-aidid/)'s forces in the Somali National Alliance. See [United Somali Congress](/en/institutions/united-somali-congress/). - **The Harti wing**, with Aden Abdullahi Nur "Gabyow" as chairman and General Mohamed Said Hersi "Morgan" as its militia commander. ## The contest for Kismayo, 1991–1999 Kismayo, the main port of the [Juba](/en/economy/farming-and-harvests/) valley, was fought over for most of the decade. A 1995 review by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, drawing on contemporary reports, records that Ahmed Omar Jess fought Morgan for control of southern Somalia including Kismayo. When Morgan signed a peace agreement on 18 June 1994, Jess did not, and an SPM group denounced the deal. By October 1994 the agreement was described as largely dormant, and tension between militias in Kismayo rose again after UN forces left in early 1995 ([Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, via ecoi.net, 9 June 1995](https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/195149)). Different reports at the time described Morgan as SPM leader or as a commander allied with the Somali National Front, which reflects how alliances shifted (same source). See [Somali National Front](/en/institutions/somali-national-front/). ## Jubaland, 1998, and after In 1998 the Harti wing under Morgan, based in Kismayo, announced an autonomous Jubaland. A coalition called the Allied Somali Forces, later the [Juba Valley Alliance](/en/history/juba-valley-alliance/), opposed it and took Kismayo in 1999; Morgan went into exile ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Patriotic_Movement)). The SPM moved its base to Dhobley near the Kenyan border and was inactive after about 2004. Wikipedia lists the [Ras Kamboni Brigades](/en/institutions/raskamboni-movement/) and the Raskamboni movement among groups that later emerged from its area and membership (same source). The Raskamboni movement's founder, Ahmed Madobe, has led Jubaland State since 2012–13; see [Ahmed Madobe](/en/people/ahmed-madobe/) and [Jubaland](/en/states/jubaland/). ## Sources differ - **Founding year.** 1985 (Library of Congress) or 1989 (Wikipedia and other accounts, which may date its armed campaign rather than its founding). - **Morgan's role.** Reported variously as SPM leader, SPM commander or SNF-aligned commander. ## Read the primary sources yourself - Library of Congress, *Somalia: A Country Study* (1993): [Opposition movements](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/73.htm), [Reconciliation](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/74.htm), [Succession](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/75.htm). - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, "Information on the Somali National Front (SNF) since 1994" (1995): [ecoi.net](https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/195149). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. 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