SomaliSteel
No dictator can imprison a population forever.
- Jan. 21, 1978
- NYT
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan. 20—The conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia has become a matter of growing international interest and concern. The Soviet Union and Cuba are deeply committed to Ethiopia; Iran and Saudi Arabia are supporting Somalia and have appealed to the Carter Administration—so far unsuccessfully—to counter the Soviet bloc's initiatives on the Horn of Africa more positively.
The following questions and answers concern the development of the conflict and its potential for great‐power confrontation.
Q. How did the war begin?
A. In mid‐July forces purporting to be members of the Western Somali Liberation Front attacked and quickly overran Ethiopian military positions in the Ogaden region, seizing almost all of the sparsely settled, semi‐arid southeastern plateau that makes up almost a fifth of Ethiopian territory.
Q. How fully was the Government of Somalia involved in the attack?
A. To this day officials in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital insist that they have: done nothing more than render strategic support to the Western Somali Liberation Front, an organization they say involved ethnic Somali tribesmen struggling against Ethiopian domination in Ogaden, where Somalis are a sizable majority. It is widely believed that the Somali Government and its armed forces were fully involved in planning and carrying out the attack. Many Somali MIG's and some Soviet‐supplied tanks were deployed. Somali troop; were sent into action under the guise of beloneino, to the liberation front. Two months before the attack, the fron': reportedly had a membership of 5.000 at, most, a good part of them poorly trained guerrillas. Yet when the attack came was a highly coordinated assault and the Somalis were able to rout 50,000 Ethiopian troops.
Q. If the Somalis have the advantage, why are they so eager for foreign assistance?
A. They believe that the buildup of Soviet equipment in Ethiopia may soon turn the tide of battle and they fear that an Ethiopian attack on Somalia would be easier to mount than the recapture of the vast Ogaden.
Q. How have the Somalis sought to solicit foreign backing?
A. Largely by stressing the allegation of vast Soviet and Cuban involvement on the Ethiopian side, drawing parallels to Cuba's role in the civil war in Angola. At one point the Somalis asserted that 15,000 Cubans were assisting the Ethiopians, some as combat troops.
Q. How do the Ethiopians answer such charges?
A. They say that there are no Cuban or Soviet military advisers and that they are buying Soviet arms because the United States has refused to sell them any.
Q. Are there Cubans and Soviet advisers in Ethiopia?
A. Yes, there are, and their numbers have grown in the last two months. The consensus of diplomats in Addis Ababa is that there may be 2,000 Cubans and 1,000 Russians, serving largely in training and supply roles.
Q. In the light of the Administration's rejection of President Siad Barre's plea for help, are the Western powers not pretty well out of the picture?
A. Not necessarily. During President Carter's visits to Iran and Saudi Arabia. both strong hackers of Somalia, he was strongly urged to abandon his aloofness toward the region. Saudi Arabia and Iran have considerable leverage on the United States. On returning home Mr. Carter said he shared the concern of the, Iranian and Saudi leaders over the Soviet Union's “unwarranted involvement in Africa.” According to diplomats, the very’ least that Iran and Saudi Arabia are hoping for is permission to transship to Somalia arms bought from the United States.
Q. Why are Iran and Saudi Arabia concerned?
A. For Saudi Arabia it is a Red Sea and pan‐Islamic issue. Except for Israel, Ethiopia is the only non‐Islamic nation on the borders of the sea; last year the Arab League declared its intention to transform it into an “Arab lake.” Iran, an anti‐Communist nation, has lono° been concerned with the buildup of Soviet naval power in the Indian Ocean, which it regards a's a potential menace to tanker traffic.
Q. What other powers back the battling countries?
A. Somalia is supported by almost all the Islamic countries in the region, notably the Sudan and Egypt, which are antiCommunist, and Iraq and Syria, which are leftist. Those backing Ethiopia form an amalgam that—in addition to the Soviet Union and Cuba—includes gener‐! ally anti‐Communist Kenya. which fears! Somali expansionism; Southern Yemen,’ an Islamic Marxist state; Libya, and Israel.
Q. Libya and Israel?
A. Yes—Libya largely because Egypt is backing Somalia and Israel because it is not delighted with design for an Arab lake.
Somalia breaks relations with Libya
UPI ARCHIVES
AUG. 25, 1981
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Somalia broke diplomatic relations with Libya Tuesday because of Libyan leader Col. Moammar Khadafy's open support for Ethiopia and an underground Somali opposition movement, the official Sonna news agency reported.
Libya was against us because it opposed Egypt which backed us. Israel was against us because they did not want another Muslim power in the neighbourhood. They support Kenya and Ethiopia to this day to that end. We have had no hostilities with them keep that in mind. Keep that in mind next time you Doqons ask why somalis dislike Jews.
