1982 Ethiopian–Somali Border War
Part of the Ethiopian–Somali conflict and the Cold War
DateJune–August 1982
Location
Mudug, Somalia
Result

Somali victory

Territorial
changes		 Ethiopian army and SSDF temporarily occupy the border towns of Galdogob and Balanbale[1]
Belligerents
Ethiopia
Puntland SSDF		 Somalia Somalia
Supported by:
United States United States
Commanders and leaders
Mengistu Haile Mariam
Puntland Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed		 Somalia Siad Barre
Somalia Mohammad Ali Samatar
Somalia Mohamed Farrah Aidid
Strength
10,000 Ethiopian soldiers
2,000–5,000 SSDF militia[2][3]		 2,500 Somali National Army soliders[4]

The 1982 Ethiopian–Somali Border War occurred between June and August 1982 when Ethiopia, sending a 10,000 man invasion force backed by warplanes and armored units, supported by thousands of SSDF rebels invaded Central Somalia.[5] The United States government responded by speeding up deliveries of light arms and main battle tanks already promised. In addition, the initially pledged US$45 million in economic and military aid was increased to US$80 million.[6]

Background

Ethiopia, which lies just to the west of Somalia, has been reported as being neighbors with Somalia as early as the 5th century BC.[1] Relations between Somalia and Ethiopia began as colonial competitors in the eighteenth century.[7] During this time period, territories between the countries were constructed with much debate over which country was the sole owner. This contention culminated in a settlement where Ethiopia gave Somalia a southern strip colonized by Britain yet was granted the controversial and prized Somali region Ogaden.[7] Between the early 19th century and World War II the boundaries of the two countries were constantly disputed, leading to the intervention from the United Nations after the war.[7] The United Nations decided to revert to the colonial boundaries agreement made in the late eighteenth century. Thus enacting the boundary to the previous owner (Ethiopia), due to the agreement being the only recorded settlement between Somalia and Ethiopia.[8]

In 1969, through a military coup following the assassination of the former president Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, Commander Mohamed Siad Barre took power of Somalia.[9] Siad Barre, a self-proclaimed Marxist, quickly aligned himself with the Soviet Union. Siad Barre prioritized party supremacy and created a dictatorship government.[7] In 1977, Somalia attempted to regain control of Ogaden with the support of the Soviet Union. But by 1978 the Soviet Union had switched its allegiance to Ethiopia due to the potential political gain and potential resources.[10] In 1978, backed with Soviet weaponry and Cuban reinforcements, Ethiopia regained control of Ogaden. This resulted in the mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of Somali men and women immigrating from the Ogaden region to the Somali borders.[7] Somalia, despite losing the 1977-78 war, never recognized the international border that places the Ogaden, with its ethnic Somali population, in Ethiopia.[8] This reason, many historians believe is what kept the hate between the two countries.

Following the Soviet Union's change of allegiance from Somalia to Ethiopia in 1978, the United States became reluctant allies to Somalia. The United States came in at a very late stage when Somalia seemingly had no other allies left. The U.S. originally was aligned with Ethiopia, but stopped supplying and equipping the country with support and aid. The U.S. originally thought that in the long term Ethiopia would be a more valuable ally due to its geographical position, its size and influence.[1] Yet both Somalia and Ethiopia were in close proximity to western oil routes, which peaked both of the United States and the Soviet Union's stake in Africa.[1] Both the United States and the Soviet Union had military accord with the separate alliances to their respective countries.[8] America had access to ports and airstrips, while the Soviet Union had military posts scattered throughout Ethiopia by the Red Sea. The extensive and continued involvement of the United States and the Soviet Union in the Horn of Africa was due to the Cold War.

Due to Siad Barre's human rights abuses, the United States was only comfortable with sending light weapons for defense rather than for attack.[1] The Library of Congress Country Study finished in the early 1990s wrote that  “although the United States was prepared to help the Siad Barre regime economically through direct grants, World Bank-sponsored loans, and relaxed International Monetary Fund regulations, the United States hesitated to offer Somalia more military aid than was essential to maintain internal security. The amount of United States military and economic aid to the regime was US$34 million.”[11]

Forces involved

In 1982, approximately 10,000 Ethiopian troops, equipped with Soviet-supplied MIG fighters and T-55 tanks, launched an invasion. They were accompanied by 2,000 to 5,000 Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) rebels, who were similarly armed with tanks and received support from Ethiopian artillery and air forces.[12][6]

The Somali National Army (SNA) committed only 2,500 troops to the border battle.[12] However, Western diplomatic sources estimated the SNA's strength to be around 50,000 at the outset of the campaign. Despite this numerical advantage, the SNA was severely under-equipped and ill-prepared for conflict following serious losses in early 1978 during the Ogaden War.[6]

Border war

The Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF), also known as the Democratic Front for Salvation of Somalia, was a rebel movement created after Siad Barre's reign as dictator began. In mid-July 1982 the SSDF and Ethiopian forces crossed over the disputed Ogaden region into the Mudug region of Somalia.[1] The Mudug region, located in central Somalia, was the point of attack as any conflict there would threaten to split the country into two halves.[6] The Ethiopian army were able to capture Balanbale and Galdogob.[6] Balanbale and Galdogob were two towns near the capital of the Mudug region, Galcaio. After the successful seizure of Balanbale and Galdogob, Siad Barre and his government declared a state of emergency.[6] Barre appealed for western aid. The United States delivered arms which had been previously offered. The deliveries included M47 Patton main battle tanks. Along with the weapons, the United States also supplied Somalia with economic and military aid totaling over $125 million dollars. In addition, the initially pledged US$45 million in economic and military aid was increased to US$80 million. The new arms were "..not used to repel the Ethiopians, however, but to repress Siad Barre's domestic opponents."[6]

Aftermath

In the years following the border war, President Siad Barre received some verbal support at the Arab League summit in 1982.[6] But ultimately year after year Somalia was challenged by war and economic trouble. Newly formed regional clan and guerilla groups revolted and challenged the Siad Barre government. Siad Barre's regime was also pressured economically by the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, and the World Bank to liberalize its economy.[13] The three institutions pressured Somalia to create the free market system, and to devalue the shilling so that its currency would reflect its true value.[13]

Somalia became engulfed in a full scale civil war by 1988. In the words of Conciliation Resources, the collapse of Somalia was “hastened by the ending of the Cold War. As Somalia's strategic importance to the West declined, the foreign aid that had sustained the state was withdrawn. Without the resources needed to maintain the system of patronage politics, Barre lost control of the country and the army. In January 1991 he was ousted from Mogadishu by forces of the United Somali Congress (USC) drawing support from the Hawiye clans in south central Somalia.”[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Recent Trends in the Horn of Africa" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 15 December 1983. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  2. ↑ Langellier, Jean-Pierre (14 November 1982). "Somalis and Ethiopians slog it out to stalemate". Le Monde. p. 12. On one side is a combined fighting force of between 6,000 and 10,000 men, most of whom are regular Ethiopian army troops backing up some 2,000 dissidents belonging to the Somali Democratic Salvation Front (SDSF).
  3. ↑ Yuusuf (Dhegey), Sayid-Axmed M. (19 January 2015). Milicsiga Dagaalkii Dhexmaray Xukuumaddii Maxamed S. Barre iyo Jabhaddii SNM: Sababihii Dagaalka iyo Saamayntii uu ku yeeshay Jamhuuriyaddii Soomaalida. BoD - Books on Demand. ISBN 9789174635782.
  4. ↑ Langellier, Jean-Pierre (14 November 1982). "Somalis and Ethiopians slog it out to stalemate". Le Monde. p. 12. On the other side, the Somali army has fielded only 2,500 men. Its artillery is so-so and it has no air support.
  5. ↑ "History – Somalia – problem, area, system, power". www.nationsencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Metz 1993, p. 47.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "HISTORY OF SOMALIA". www.historyworld.net. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 Sheila Rule (5 April 1988). "Somalia and Ethiopia Resume Relations". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  9. ↑ "Mohamed Siad Barre | president of Somalia". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "Somalia: Status of the Armed Forces" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. March 1982. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  11. ↑ Metz 1993, p. 45-46.
  12. 1 2 Langellier, Jean-Pierre (14 November 1982). "Somalis and Ethiopians slog it out to stalemate". Le Monde. p. 12.
  13. 1 2 Metz 1993, p. 48.
  14. ↑ "Endless war: a brief history of the Somali conflict". Conciliation Resources. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2018.

17.Ethiopia-Somali: Continuing Military Imbalance in the Ogaden. (1983). Retrieved January 30, 2020

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