The fall of Gedo: 26th Anniversary of Ethiopia’s Invasion on Gedo region

On this day (9/8/1996) 26 years ago Ethiopia carried out an air and land invasion on the Gedo region, Somalia. Its air force bombarded Luq and Boholgaras indiscriminately while its ground troops attacked Balad-Hawo, and Dolow in addition to the above-mentioned towns. Ethiopia claimed that it targeted the Islamist bases and that it killed over 200 Al-Itihad militants and wounded many more. However, it did not spare anywhere it could reach, be residential houses, mosques or busy markets. Its troops, tanks and helicopters swept through those towns firing indiscriminately. Scores of civilians and Al-Itihad fighters were killed. Among the civilians killed in a mosque was the Luq district commissioner Aadan sheekh Hassan Gaas. Nevertheless, the invasion had far more disastrous consequences than the initial death and destruction it caused. Almost all the troubles that our country has seen since then go back to that very day in one way or the other. 

Firstly this invasion has defined the future relationship between the Somali people and Ethiopian government. After this incursion Ethiopia’s attitude towards Somalia and its dealing with Somali people had dramatically changed. As the weaknesses and fissures of Somali leaders had been severely exposed, Ethiopian rulers cleverly capitalized it. Since then Ethiopia has been dealing with Somali people as fragmented unruly tribes which had no state. Immediately after the invasion, it developed a divide and rule policy which allowed her to bring border regions under its administration. It established a permanent presence in Gedo, Baay and Bakool. It had been expanding its influence on other regions, gradually bringing one after one under its rule. By 2005 the whole country came under its rule either directly or indirectly exempt two Jubbas, two Shabeelles and Banadir. And finally December 28th 2006 the whole country fell and the Ethiopian flag was raised over Villa Somalia. 

Secondly on this day 26 years ago was when Al-shabaab was conceived which would be born 10 years later. This organization, which is the greatest danger the whole region is facing, started to evolve from that incident. After this aggression, Al-itihad fighters began gorilla war and adopted the same brutal and savage tactics that Al-shabaab use today including mining roads, beheading and assassinating civilians on mere suspicion. Al-Itihad leaders were divided on this issue and most of the top leaders opposed those actions and condemned them as unreligious. They demanded the war in Gedo to be stopped altogether several times. But others including Hasan Dahir Aweys, Ibrahim Afghan and Mohammed Haji Yusuf, the head of the so-called Gedo Emirate, insisted it was a rightful Jihad thus supporting its continuation. The annual general meeting of Al-Ictisaam (former Al-Itihad) was held in Mogadishu between 31/07/1999 and 5/08/1999. One of the outcomes of this conference was to stop the fighting in Gedo and lay down the guns. What would be Al-shabaab leaders refused to accept that declaration.  Although they began their own separate conference and political and military movement, they remained under the Al-Ictisam banner until 2006 when they named themselves Al-Shabaab.  

Therefore August the 9th invasion was central to what happened in our country in the years that followed to date. Yet no one asked why and how it happened nor did it attract the attention of scholars and researchers. Indeed it was forgotten all together. A forthcoming book written in Somali will try to fill this gap. The book will explore how we came to that day; who was responsible for the actions that provoked this attack and finally whether it could be avoided. 

But for now let’s remember those who perished in that savage attack by making dua for all of them and sharing the names of those lucky ones whose names were recorded. I have taken the below list from the book Cadowkeennu Waa Kuma by Abdullahi Farah Ali. The list is not conclusive 

Ibrahim Aden Shire

ishire86@gmail.com