Western Somali Liberation Front
| Western Somali Liberation Front | |
|---|---|
| Participant in Ogaden War | |
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| Active | 1973–1989 |
| Leaders | Yusuf Dheere Mohamed Sugaal |
| Area of operations | Ogaden |
| Strength | 15000 |
| Allies | Somalia |
| Opponents | Ethiopia |
| Battles and wars | Battle of Jijiga |
The Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) (Somali: Jabhadda Xoreynta Somali Galbeed) was a separatist rebel group fighting in eastern Ethiopia to create an independent state. It played a major role in the Ogaden War of 1977-78 assisting the invading Somali Army.
Somali guerrilla activity in the Ogaden and in the Haud area east of Harar flared sporadically after Somalia gained its independence in 1960, but the guerrilla activity remained essentially a police concern until a border war erupted in 1964. When he seized power in Mogadishu in 1969, Siad Barre thwarted attempts at an understanding between Ethiopia and Somalia. He pledged to renew efforts to establish a "Greater Somalia" that would encompass about one-third of Ethiopia's territory. Encouraged by the breakdown of authority in Addis Ababa after the 1974 overthrow of Haile Selassie, Somalia provided equipment, as well as moral and organizational support to insurgent movements in the Ogaden and southern Ethiopia.
The WSLF was founded by a young captain called Yusuf Dheere Mohamed Sugaal (Yuusuf the tall man) who was educated and trained in Syria, after finishing high school in Hargeisa. Upon his return from Syria, Yusuf Dheere has created the Ururka Dhalinyara Soomaali Galbeed or the Western Somali Youth Organization. Yusuf Dheere, who was well connected and from a noble family, met the Somali president Siad Barre in 1973 after putting the Somali elders behind his plan, and convinced the Somali President to do something about the Ogaden region. So Siad Barre gave Yusuf Dheere 2 years to give diplomacy a chance and to prepare the Somali National Army, for it was still unproven. In the meanwhile, Yusuf Dheere was told to recruit about 1500 volunteers and was permitted rations for only 1500 people; in the space of a month, he recruited over 3000 soldiers, most of them were old fighters from all over the country.
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