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Somalia Persecution of the Majeerteen
In the aftermath of the Ogaden debacle, a group of
disgruntled army officers attempted a coup d'état against the
regime in April 1978. Their leader was Colonel Mahammad Shaykh
Usmaan, a member of the Majeerteen clan. The coup failed and
seventeen alleged ringleaders, including Usmaan, were summarily
executed. All but one of the executed were of the Majeerteen
clan. One of the plotters, Lieutenant Colonel Abdillaahi Yuusuf
Ahmad, a Majeerteen, escaped to Ethiopia and founded an anti-Siad
Barre organization initially called the Somali Salvation Front
(SSDF; later the Somali Salvation Democratic Front, SSDF)
(see Sources of Opposition
, ch. 5). During their preeminence in the
civilian regimes, the Majeerteen had alienated other clans. Thus,
when Siad Barre sent the Red Berets against the Majeerteen in
Mudug Region, other clans declined to support them.
The Red Berets systematically smashed the small reservoirs in
the area around Galcaio so as to deny water to the Umar Mahamuud
Majeerteen sublineages and their herds. In May and June 1979,
more than 2,000 Umar Mahamuud, the Majeerteen sublineage of
Colonel Ahmad, died of thirst in the waterless area northeast of
Galcaio, Garoowe, and Jerriiban. In Galcaio, members of the
Victory Pioneers, the urban militia notorious for harassing
civilians, raped large numbers of Majeerteen women. In addition,
the clan lost an estimated 50,000 camels, 10,000 cattle, and
100,000 sheep and goats.
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