Somali National Movement
The Somali National Movement (Somali: Dhaqdhaqaaqa Wadaniga Soomaaliyeed, Arabic: الحركة الوطنية الصومالية) was one of the first and most important organized guerilla groups and Mujahideen groups that opposed to the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 1990s, as well as being the main anti-government faction during the Somaliland War of Independence. The organisation was founded in London, England, on April 6, 1981 by Hassan Isse Jama, Hassan Adan Wadadid, and Ahmed Mohamed Gulaid and other former Somali diplomats, who stated that initially the group's purpose was to overthrow the Siad Barre regime.
| Somali National Movement (SNM) | |
|---|---|
| Leaders | Ahmed Mohamed Gulaid (1981–1982) Sheikh Yusuf Ali Sheikh Madar (1982–1983) Hassan Adan Wadadid (1982–1983) Colonel Abdiqadir Kosar Abdi (1983–1984) Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (1984–1990) Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur (1990–1991) |
| Group(s) | Isaaq |
| Headquarters | London (1981–1982) Dire Dawa (1982–1989) Hargeisa (1989–1991) |
| Active regions | Somaliland Somalia Ethiopia |
| Ideology | Anti-communism Sharia |
| Allies | USC Ethiopia |
| Opponents | Somalia |
| Battles and wars | Somaliland War of Independence |
In May 1991, the organisation declared an independent Republic of Somaliland in the region that had constituted British Somaliland before independence and unification with the former colony of Italian Somaliland in 1960 after a bloody war of independence.