Armed groups and militias
Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), 1985–2004
The Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM) was an armed movement in southern Somalia. The Library of Congress dates it to 1985, after a split in the SSDF; other accounts date it to 1989. Its support came mainly from the Ogaden clan. In 1990 many Ogaden officers left the army and joined it. After 1991 it divided into two wings, one led by Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess and one by General Mohamed Said Hersi 'Morgan', which contested Kismayo through the 1990s.
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. 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 (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study). See 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 (1989–1991), Kismayo (1991–1999) and Dhobley (1999–2004) (Wikipedia, 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). In August–September 1990 the SPM agreed with the SNM and Aidid's wing of the USC to coordinate their campaigns (Library of Congress). Shortly before the government fell, SPM fighters took the Baledogle 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). It then divided along clan lines into two wings (Wikipedia):
- The Absame wing (SPM/SNA), led by Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess and Gedi Ugas Madhar. On 12 August 1992 it joined General Aidid's forces in the Somali National Alliance. See 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 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).
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.
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, opposed it and took Kismayo in 1999; Morgan went into exile (Wikipedia). The SPM moved its base to Dhobley near the Kenyan border and was inactive after about 2004.
Wikipedia lists the Ras Kamboni Brigades 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 and 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, Reconciliation, Succession.
- Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, "Information on the Somali National Front (SNF) since 1994" (1995): ecoi.net.
Sources
- Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study · countrystudies.us
- Wikipedia, Somali Patriotic Movement · en.wikipedia.org
- Library of Congress · countrystudies.us
- Library of Congress · countrystudies.us
- Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, via ecoi.net, 9 June 1995 · ecoi.net
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Read the callWhere this matters
- 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 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 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.