The 1984 Massacre of SSDF Troops By the Ethiopian Derg Regime

[Deeq A.]

Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the former SSDF Chairman in the Somali region of Ethiopia circa 1981.

Garowe (PP Features) — In May 1984, the forces of the Ethiopian Derg regime massacred SSDF (Somali Salvation Democratic Front) troops in camps located in what is now known as the Somali region of Ethiopia. The disagreement between the then Ethiopian President Mengistu Haile Mariam and the late Abdullahi Yusuf, the SSDF Chairman, in 1982 reportedly led to this massacre. In 1982, Abdullahi Yusuf opposed Mengistu’s claim that Galdogob and Balanbaale ”are  part of Ethiopia.” 

In 1984, the Ethiopian army revealed a plan to attack Somalia jointly with the SSDF forces. Senior SSDF officers opposed this decision. They viewed the plan as an opportunity for Ethiopia  to consolidate its claim over a territory belonging to the “Democratic Republic of Somalia”. Following the attack that killed SSDF soldiers, many SSDF troops retuned to Somalia.

Mengistu Haile Mariam ordered an attack on the SSDF forces to disarm them. A battle lasting five days ensued, causing many deaths and injuries. A few months after this attack, the Ethiopian government detained Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed in 1985.

Three autobiographies written by former SSDF members.

In his autobiography, Halgan iyo Hagardaamo, Abdullahi Yusuf wrote that the Ethiopian government suspected he was planning to move SSDF forces out of Ethiopia after his visits to Libya and South Yemen. The SSDF experienced a major split. In his autobiography Abdullahi Yusuf claimed that some SSDF members collaborated with the Ethiopian government and that the Ethiopian Defence Minister ordered him to hand over the SSDF leadership to the late Mohamed Farah Jim’ale, who was a senior member of SSDF leadership.

The Soviet Union, which played a major role in establishing Somalia’s National Security Service (NSS), was displeased with Abdullahi Yusuf’s alliance with Ethiopia. Abdullahi Yusuf’s opposition to socialism and communism was no secret, but it was unclear why he aligned himself with Ethiopia, a country under a communist regime dependent on whst was known as the Soviet Union. The Ethiopian government faced a crisis of confidence when its relationship with the Soviet Union deteriorated.

In 1982, the leader of the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov, cancelled Mengistu’s planned visit to Moscow. 1982 was the year Ethiopia occupied Galdogob and Ballanbaale, violating the African Union Charter on respecting the sovereignty of member states. The Soviet Union acknowledged that Ethiopia had breached the agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union to withdraw Somali troops from the Ogaden. Cyrus Vance, the former US Secretary of State stated that the U.S. would consider “arming” Somalia if Ethiopian forces invaded  Somalia.

The Soviet Union disapproved of Ethiopia’s offensive against Somalia and declined Mengistu’s appeal for more weapons. Abdullahi Yusuf was aware of the diplomatic pressure on Mengistu, who sought to use SSDF forces as a tool to continue asserting Ethiopian claims over a Somali territory.

The lessons that can be drawn from this history, 40 years ago, are that the interests of a dependent entity inevitably clash with those of the country it relies upon. The current Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, is now following the same path as Mengistu’s. Abiy sometimes claims he is ready to fight for the United States, and at other times, to ally himself with Russia and the BRICS countries.

The history of the SSDF, documented in several memoirs and through interviews with former members, raises many questions. Did the SSDF members who remained in Ethiopia believe the SSDF could survive the 1984 massacre of SSDF forces and Abdullahi Yusuf’s imprisonment? Or were they acting strategically to avoid Mengistu’s  wrath if they opposed their sponsor’s policies?

© Puntland Post, 2024

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