THE COUP ATTEMPT IN SOMALIA: BACKGROUND

Created: 5/8/1978

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

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MANDATORYICOCUMENT

CnrrRAL IrTTaLlCESCi:FOREICM8

The Coop Attempt la Somalia: teckground

provided the catalyst for eho

fegSg9 April when he ordered the arrest and

euaeuuLamaxg* number of officers who fought la tba. Ogadea caarpelanw Siad wee apparently attest log to head off potaatlal tmnhlmmsilng by officers embittered over the Somali army's defeat la tha Ogeden.

IJMMIMI'HYrt (CI

pargsa began In earnest shortly after tbe withdrawalegulars from the Ogaden lo tarly March. andfJ^gpjf^pHofficers primarily from clan* In northern and central Soaalla. Siad bad long viewedlans as contentious, disloyal elesescs. Thm rlana. for their part, bad for years bitterly resented the

ot Somali nf fairsad's own clanthe Hsrehans.

tha officers targeted for cliadaatlon by Siad ware said to have been convinced that the Somali president used troops under their commend as cannon fodder in the Ogaden while deliberately keeping; officers from biw own clan out of dangerous combat zones.eder* ofpril coup, the most important of whom were field grade officers and veteran Ogaden troop comnnuidars, caam from these very seme clan oleaents; they weregjoward biad as by disenchantment with Siad in the aftermath of the Ogaden debaclg. although tfiey clearly bo pad co capitalize on broader anti-Siad feeling. Thprf thet Soviets or pro-Soviet Somalijaejeaj

coyp attempt, but tha logic of the situation, as

mmll es open Cuban broadcasts, arguaa that the Soviets ond Cubans

irking;eirthrov Siad.

The coup collapsed quickly; It wasnd Siad apparently bad advance knowledge of it which permitted hia to move against the instigators and thereby force thes to show their hand prematurely.

date

ti

_ warn supposed to havea grunt led Ogadcnl oillt-ary returnees were assembled in strength.

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Tjiatrad, the first action vas takan io Mogadiscio, whereloyallats were deployed in coaaidarable numbers and inpoattiana. esult, pro-Siad troopa were able torevoltwhich on the dissident aide nay have0 troopa, andank*inhanalthough anpplng-up operatlona continued forime,

Tb*reeen no major distrixbance* in the Mogadiscio area that abortive coop attempt, and President Siad haa taken aof scarp* to strengthen the rlsspTSssioo tha* he is in control et 4he spven-uaaant. His departurecheduled week-long vislc to Chjna. cmly four days after tha revolt had been quashed argues eithere Is currently in Cairo on another

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security forces appear to have rounded up coat of thsj coop plotters, inelnding the rtogadisclo-based ringleader of the oprlolna. Siad lshe coup attestptretext to ssove against potential challengers and political

in the Sossall goverrcaent and security apparatus who, largely they belong to tha sane clan elements that instigated the coup, are bains scxnsasd of synpathizing with Its objectives.

of le

tear

atsea, howevex the^Sotaall leader is ccnsductloK hla

arefully

heavy-handed treatment 01

there have been rcporra

aerlae of dlsr*srbancesja_ north-central Somalia in recent vewks that on the surface largely involve banditry, isolated shootings, but nay atea from ethnic rivalries.

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