Assalamu aleykum. I decided to write this story for information purposes & for anybody interested in the horn of Africa region. Its a story with an ending which would leave someone wondering whether to cry or laugh, either way I felt it needed to be told.
After many years of trial, error, and misguided policies, in 1404 A.H (1983 A.D) the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Oromiyaa (IFLO) was founded in the Mullata mountains of East Hararge province (Eastern Ethiopia) under the leadership of Sh. Abdulkarim Ibrahim Hamid "Jaarraa", with the stated goal of defeating the Ethiopian occupiers and ruling the land by the Sharia of Allah swt. This was a man who after encouragement from his Ustadh, started his journey in search of dignity and honour when he left home with a group of companions at a young age to participate in the battles that had been raging between the Muslims of Bale region in South Eastern Ethiopia under the leadership of Hussein Bunee, Ali Chirri, Waaqo Guutu and others against the Imam of Kufr in East Africa, Haile Selassie. The fighting continued for a decade, in particular between 1382-1389 A.H (1963-70 AD). During the fighting the population suffered heavily, specifically from the indiscriminant aerial bombardment. The army of Haile Selassie suffered heavy casualties on the ground and had difficulty moving in heavy weaponry due to the geography so it sought help from their brothers, which was received;
"400 British army engineers were sent in to build bridges and roads. One of the bridges that was of tremendous strategic importance was built over the Gannaale river. The American Air Force experts were brought in to improve the fire power of the Ethiopian Air Force jet fighters for more accurate air strikes. Several Israeli counter-insurgency and explosive experts were brought in to advise and guide the army. In spite of all these efforts, the guerrillas were able to repulse the enemy and continue to expand their area of activity."
The Muslims relied on a thin supply route from Somalia mainly for the purchase of small arms, and an escape route for the sick, wounded, and refugees (mainly women, children & elderly). The refugees ended up settling in the Somali border town of Luuq, but were later relocated to the town of Qoriyole, just south of the capital Mogadishu. Eventually the fighting was also brought to a halt by a number of factors which will not be addressed at the moment. This experience lit a spark in the youth, that would only intensify in the years to come.
Many groups organized and began carrying out operations, but none under the proper banner. In 1983 however, after many years of trial, error, and misguidance a group of ethnic Oromo Islamic scholars based in the Arabian peninsula, drawing on inspiration from the ongoing Jihad in Afghanistan and the blows being dealt to the Soviets in that land and seeing the oppression of the Ethiopians as an Islamic issue, helped form an Islamic Front which would end the occupation and revive Islam in a land where it had been weak and dominated since the fall of the Muslim regions in the latter part of the 19th century. The Amir of the group was Sh. Abdulkarim Ibrahim Hamid, who had prior military training in Syria and in Yemen with Palestinian geurillas, also in leading groups in combat. It should also be mentioned that he had spent 5 years in the harshest of maximum security prisons in Somalia known as Mandheera outside the port town of Berbera when caught by the regime of Siad Barre while trying to infiltrate into Ethiopia with an armed group of about 30 men, after crossing the Gulf of Aden. Upon his release he was escorted to the Presidential Palace to meet with the President of Somalia Siad Barre. Siad Barre offered to provide arms, training and whatever was needed to reorganize the group as long as they fought under the banner of liberating Western Somalia even though they were ethnic Oromos and not Somalis, which he rejected adding "If you think 5 years in your prison has broken me down, this is how your prison has affected me" he put a little scratch mark on his arm. It was this type of courage which gave him the leadership quality which was admired.
After many years of trial, error, and misguided policies, in 1404 A.H (1983 A.D) the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Oromiyaa (IFLO) was founded in the Mullata mountains of East Hararge province (Eastern Ethiopia) under the leadership of Sh. Abdulkarim Ibrahim Hamid "Jaarraa", with the stated goal of defeating the Ethiopian occupiers and ruling the land by the Sharia of Allah swt. This was a man who after encouragement from his Ustadh, started his journey in search of dignity and honour when he left home with a group of companions at a young age to participate in the battles that had been raging between the Muslims of Bale region in South Eastern Ethiopia under the leadership of Hussein Bunee, Ali Chirri, Waaqo Guutu and others against the Imam of Kufr in East Africa, Haile Selassie. The fighting continued for a decade, in particular between 1382-1389 A.H (1963-70 AD). During the fighting the population suffered heavily, specifically from the indiscriminant aerial bombardment. The army of Haile Selassie suffered heavy casualties on the ground and had difficulty moving in heavy weaponry due to the geography so it sought help from their brothers, which was received;
"400 British army engineers were sent in to build bridges and roads. One of the bridges that was of tremendous strategic importance was built over the Gannaale river. The American Air Force experts were brought in to improve the fire power of the Ethiopian Air Force jet fighters for more accurate air strikes. Several Israeli counter-insurgency and explosive experts were brought in to advise and guide the army. In spite of all these efforts, the guerrillas were able to repulse the enemy and continue to expand their area of activity."
The Muslims relied on a thin supply route from Somalia mainly for the purchase of small arms, and an escape route for the sick, wounded, and refugees (mainly women, children & elderly). The refugees ended up settling in the Somali border town of Luuq, but were later relocated to the town of Qoriyole, just south of the capital Mogadishu. Eventually the fighting was also brought to a halt by a number of factors which will not be addressed at the moment. This experience lit a spark in the youth, that would only intensify in the years to come.
Many groups organized and began carrying out operations, but none under the proper banner. In 1983 however, after many years of trial, error, and misguidance a group of ethnic Oromo Islamic scholars based in the Arabian peninsula, drawing on inspiration from the ongoing Jihad in Afghanistan and the blows being dealt to the Soviets in that land and seeing the oppression of the Ethiopians as an Islamic issue, helped form an Islamic Front which would end the occupation and revive Islam in a land where it had been weak and dominated since the fall of the Muslim regions in the latter part of the 19th century. The Amir of the group was Sh. Abdulkarim Ibrahim Hamid, who had prior military training in Syria and in Yemen with Palestinian geurillas, also in leading groups in combat. It should also be mentioned that he had spent 5 years in the harshest of maximum security prisons in Somalia known as Mandheera outside the port town of Berbera when caught by the regime of Siad Barre while trying to infiltrate into Ethiopia with an armed group of about 30 men, after crossing the Gulf of Aden. Upon his release he was escorted to the Presidential Palace to meet with the President of Somalia Siad Barre. Siad Barre offered to provide arms, training and whatever was needed to reorganize the group as long as they fought under the banner of liberating Western Somalia even though they were ethnic Oromos and not Somalis, which he rejected adding "If you think 5 years in your prison has broken me down, this is how your prison has affected me" he put a little scratch mark on his arm. It was this type of courage which gave him the leadership quality which was admired.
