Civil war story from Kismayo in 1989

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JamalNFD

JAMAL
From mid 1989, my young dad and my mother were in Kismayo, they had just married a couple of months before.
Ogaden officers serving in kismayo mutinied after Defense minister Gabiyow was arrested. They temporarily took over much of Kismayo and demanded Gabiyow be released.
Fighting broke out between the Ogaden former soldiers and the Red berets Marexaan troops.
The fighting got very intense, My dads older brothers who were part of the berets remained loyal to the regime.
The dissidents were mainly native Cawlihan Ogaden (Gabiyows sub clan) who were angered by the arrest as well as angered that the regime had settled thousands of Mareexaan from Gedo region in Kismayo, a land dispute arose and the regime favoured the Mx side.
My family was unique because we were part of the people settled by barre in kismayo but we were Mikaahil and my great grandfather had a history with Barre's Mikaahil side before in galbed.
My dad and mum moved to dobley first with the hope they'll return when it ends and peace returns.

Well peace never returned, my uncles and much of the Red berets moved to protect Mogadishu in 1990 by then my parents had already crossed into Kenya which wasn't as hard on them as the rest of the other migrants as my dad had family in NFD and Nairobi.
My mum had lost all contact with her family in the north as the north was even worse, she had no idea if they were alive or dead.
Telephone communication was lost by late '88.
Most made it thankfully and Some had come all the way to Nairobi via Ethiopia in 1992 seeking passage abroad and many got refugee asylum to Canada and the states in 1994 and others in the years later.
Two of my dads older brothers died fighting SPM and USC in Mogadishu Airport in 1991.
The rest is history, my grandads grave is till today in Kismayo in the piece of land Barre gave him and the other Mikaahil heads who had been settled there.
 
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