Somalia vs. Ethiopia

1978 - 1988

Core issue: Somalia sought the annexation of the Ogaden region populated by Somali clans.

Type of conflict ending: Peaceful thawing

The war between Somalia and Ethiopia was fought over the control of the Ogaden region. The region officially became part of Ethiopia with the Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1897, despite being home to ethnic Somali people. The division of territory was not actually demarcated until the 1930s, and as a consequence, the border division triggered a conflict over the exact location of the border. In summary, the core issue was related to territorial control. It became a cause of violence in the 1960s and eventually led to war in 1977.

In 1960, the newly independent Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland united into the common Somali Republic. This mobilized the political desire of building a "Greater Somalia" composed of all Somali-populated territory. The biggest territory involved in this political goal was the Ogaden region which was then part of Ethiopia and where some militias were already pursuing the desire to be integrated into the new nation of Somalia. The largest of these militias was the Western Somali Liberation Front, WSLF, but there were many more of these groups that joined the fight for the Ogaden region. These secessionist movement groups were supported by the Somali leader Siad Barre, who provided them with safe havens, as well as material support so that they could attack Ethiopian military targets. By May 1977, the WSLF, with help from the Somali government, wielded control of approximately 60 percent of the territory. In July 1977, the Somali National Army (SNA) moved into the Ogaden region to take control of the remaining territory. The combined SNA and WSLF forces experienced initial success, and by September controlled approximately 90 percent of the territory.

After the invasion, the USSR, which had supported Somalia previously, switched their alliance to the new socialist government in Ethiopia, while the USA, which had supported the overthrown Haile Selassie regime, became a supporter of Somalia. With the provision by the Soviet Union and Cuba of troops and South Yemeni and East German logistical support, Ethiopia managed to regain control over the Ogaden region. On March 8, Siad Barre announced the withdrawal of Somali troops.

After the war, relations transitioned into a tense frozen conflict, with both sides using proxy groups to destabilize their counterpart. In 1980, this even escalated into direct military conflict once again. Despite this violence, various peace talks were attempted by the African Union as well as third parties such as Italy, Madagascar and Uganda.

In 1988, the peace talks were finally successful, and the conflict was terminated by peaceful thawing. Both countries withdrew their troops from the border region, exchanged prisoners of war and restored diplomatic relations, signaling the end of conflict between the two countries. This conclusion is slightly controversial as the peace treaty did not explicitly addressed the issue of territorial rights over the Ogaden region, but it incorporated an agreement to respect the sovereignty of both countries within their prior colonial borders.

Sources

Kendie, Daniel D., 2003. "Toward Northeast African Cooperation: Resolving the Ethiopia-Somalia Disputes", Northeast African Studies, 10 (2), 67.

Gasbarri, F., 2018. "From the Sands of the Ogaden to Black Hawk Down: The End of the Cold War in the Horn of Africa", Cold War History, 18 (1), 73-89.

Gebru, Tareke, 2000. "The Ethiopia-Somalia War of 1977 Revisited", The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 33 (3), 635.

Kasaija, A.P., 2010. "The UN-led Djibouti peace process for Somalia 2008-2009: Results and problems", Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 28 (3), 261-282.

UCDP - Government of Ethiopia - Government of Somalia [online], 2019. Available from: https://ucdp.uu.se/statebased/560 [Accessed 9 Nov 2019].

Yihun, B. B., 2014. "Ethiopian foreign policy and the Ogaden War: The shift from 'containment' to 'destabilization