Although U.N. efforts to rebuild Somalia’s shattered military invokes nostalgia and reminisces about Somali National Army’s SNA glorious days in the battle fields, once a mighty African force that its enemies trembled with fear—the SNA’s dark side, the untold atrocities it inflicted not on the enemy but on the Somaliland citizens it supposed protect remains the root cause of Somalia’s turmoil.
During the 80s, for many citizens in Somaliland and Puntland clouds of dust from a distance signaled time to flee. As hundreds of SNA’s killing machines: Soviet-made T54 tanks, Armored Personnel Carriers, and trucks loaded with brutal soldiers rumbled down onto the plain dirt, a cloud of dust trailed behind them; every citizen was on his/her own, no time for prayers. Many civilians never escaped; survivors live with the trauma.
My vivid memories of the SNA still haunt me. Then, as a little boy, I heard a lot about the SNA’s brutalities against Somaliland and Puntland people but never understood how such atrocities were possible. However, in the summer of 1985 much of my perception towards the SNA changed forever.
On a sunny afternoon, we departed from the dusty city Burao in Somaliland to HAWD area in the Somali region of Ethiopia. For every few kilometers, the SNA forces, at checkpoints, not only looted our possessions but also terrorized us. At sunset, when we reached the border village of Durukhsi the SNA forced us to abandon our truck. We were told that we must trek a long journey through a thick jungle to reach our destination. No vehicles were allowed to cross the border. It was part of the SNA’s strategy to starve the population on the other side of the border. We were seventeen passengers: eight women, four children, and five men.
Local villagers warned us that the SNA forces will track us. Once they find us, women will face rape; men, summary execution. When we asked the locals if it was safe to spend the night in the village and continue our trip during daytime, they suggested the other way around. They said, during daytime the SNA will capture us in not time. We will be at its mercy within hours; however, at night we always have a chance to evade the SNA.
Knowing that we face what we fear the most—a brutal death in the hands of the SNA—we departed from Durukhsi. And no sooner did we reach its outskirt than the SNA like African wild dogs began sniffing our footprints to track us. To make matters worse, as darkness fell across the land, ominous dark clouds loomed on the horizon; wind and rain gathered momentum and so did our fear. It rained all night long.
What a nigh to remember for a young lad! Cruel SNA forces tracking our footsteps, jackals howling relentlessly and hyenas shrieking intermittently in the jungle, deafening sound of thunder and heavy rain pounding us, thick forest’s sharp needles tearing our clothes and skins alike, and overwhelming fear that refused to free our thoughts—it was a night that terrified travelers caught between nature’s assault and SNA’s brutality.
Worse yet, we knew if we crossed the border the Somali National Movement SNM forces that bitterly fought against the SNA on the other side took no prisoners at night. If any one crossed the border at night, SNM forces shot to kill him/her as to stop possible SNA infiltrators. At the same time, the SNA forces were tracking us fast. So as the distance between the SNA and us shortened, fear overwhelmed the most vulnerable citizens: women and children. On the other hand, men feared the worst but pondered possible solutions.
Luckily, one wise man named Ahmed Gaab proposed the most cleaver strategy to dodge the SNA. Instead of travelling straight to south as SNA expected, we detoured to east. Soon we lost the SNA, but still we couldn’t trust our instincts, nor could we cross the border; so while rain poured we waited for hours in the dark and huddled together under a tree. Because of fear hardly any one spoke a word. When the morning came, we began our horrific journey. Shortly, we reached Halhalis village. At last, although we were horrified, soaked, and exhausted, we all made it. These are my memories of the SNA and I am one of the lucky ones.
Others never escaped the SNA’s killing machines. It either butchered Somaliland people, or put them against one another. In all major Somaliland cities: Borame, Hargeisa, Berbera, Sheikh, Burao, Las Anod, Erigabo and almost every village population fled. Some feared the SNA; others, rebels. The SNA slaughtered over 50,000 civilians. Most of them never received dignified burials. Perhaps, thousands more died as the result of tribal wars between Somaliland people instigated by the SNA. Without a doubt, one way or the other the entire Somaliland people were victims.
Yet the same officers who commanded the SNA of the 80s are now called to lead Somalia’s army while their victims barely healed from psychological and physical trauma. That is, men like Gen. Mohamed Ali Samatar, a former defense minister and prime minister of Somalia, Col. Yusuf Abdi Ali (Tuke), and notorious Gen. Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan—the butcher of Hargeisa—could be at the helm of the SNA again. Shouldn’t they face International Court for war crimes? See reports of that detail their crimes:
http://www.cja.org/cases/Somalia%20Press/WashPost11.11.04.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Said_Hersi_Morgan
Don’t get me wrong. To rebuild the SNA is a noble idea, but who should lead it? The U.N. recent proposal to recall Somalia’s ex-army offices won’t help to rebuild the army but will poke barely healed wounds. See the U.N. press release. http://tinyurl.com/rdmzry Neither half-baked Somali regimes parachuted into Mogadishu, nor do war criminals summoned to Washington create a lasting peace in Somalia.
Source: SomalilandPress
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