1978 Somali coup attempt

Coup d'état attempt against the President of Somalia Siad Barre 1978 Somali coup d'état attempt 200px the Cold War Somali communist dictator Siad Barre, 1978.png Somali dictator Siad Barre in 1978 1978 4 9 yes Mogadishu, Somalia Coup attempt fails Siad Barre remains in power Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed fled to Kenya First anti-Siad Barre rebel group founded SSDF Somalia 1969 Government of the Somali Democratic Republic Military faction Alleged support: Soviet Union Cuba Somalia Siad Barre Mohamed Osman IrroAbdullahi Yusuf Ahmed Unknown 24 officers2,000 soldiers65 tanks 17 plotters executed. The 1978 Somali coup attempt was a violent military coup attempt that took place in Somalia (then Somali Democratic Republic) on 9 April 1978,https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/04/10/military-coup-foiled-somali-leader-reports/018bbfba-772e-41ff-9f5d-73280b75f6f4/ Coup in Ethiopia Seems to Be a Failure, Diplomats Say 10 April 1978 The Washington Post 15 June 2020 against the regime of President Siad Barre. The United States Central Intelligence Agency estimated that the coup, led by Colonel Mohamed Osman Irro, involved around 24 officers, 2,000 soldiers, and 65 tanks. Following the failed coup, 17 alleged ringleaders, including Osman, were summarily executed by firing squad. Background The coup attempt was staged by a group of disgruntled Army officers, led by Colonel Mohamed Osman Irro, in the aftermath of the disastrous Ogaden War against Ethiopia (then ruled by the Mengistu-led Derg). The war was initiated by President Siad Barre, who had himself come into power a decade earlier in the 1969 Somali coup d'état. A United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) memorandum written the following month speculated that the coup was in response to Barre ordering the arrest and execution of officers that participated in the Ogaden War. The officers believed that Barre had intentionally used troops from other clans as "cannon fodder" while officers from his own Marehan clan were given safer orders. The report concluded that the officers involved in the coup "were motivated at least as much by long-standing ethnic animosities toward Barre as by disenchantment with his regime in the aftermath of the Ogaden debacle".The Coup Attempt in Somalia: Background https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000275820.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20170215115144/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000275820.pdf dead February 15, 2017 cia.gov Central Intelligence Agency 16 June 2020 8 May 1978 Coup Siad Barre around 1970|thumb|right The coup was launched on 9 April 1978.https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/10/archives/new-jersey-pages-somali-regime-says-it-crushed-a-revolt-by-military.html SOMALI REGIME SAYS IT CRUSHED A REVOLT BY MILITARY OFFICERS 10 April 1978 The New York Times 15 June 2020 The bulk of the fighting concluded within the day. Gunfire broke out at the village of Afgooye, south of the capital Mogadishu, and small-arms fire and explosions were heard on the outskirts of the capital. The coup was originally planned to start in Hargeisa, but Barre likely knew of the attempt in advance and was able to disrupt the coup before it launched, as well as position forces loyal to himself in the capital. The CIA estimated that the coup involved around 24 officers, 2,000 soldiers, and 65 tanks. Aftermath Following the failed coup, 17 alleged ringleaders, including Osman, were summarily executed by firing squad.https://www.executedtoday.com/2010/10/26/1978-seventeen-officers-in-somalia/ 1978: Seventeen officers in Somalia 26 October 2010 ExecutedToday.com 15 June 2020 Barre used the coup as justification to purge members of the clans involved in the coup from government and military positions. One of the plotters, Lieutenant Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, escaped to EthiopiaNew People Media Centre (Nairobi, Kenya), New people, Issues 94–105, (New People Media Centre: Comboni Missionaries, 2005). and founded an anti-Siad Barre organization initially called the Somali Salvation Front (SSF; later the Somali Salvation Democratic Front, SSDF),Nina J. Fitzgerald, Somalia: issues, history, and bibliography, (Nova Publishers: 2002), p.25. initiating the Somali Rebellion and eventually the Somali Civil War. Allegation of Eastern Bloc involvement Barre blamed the coup attempt on the Eastern Bloc, namely Soviet Union and Cuba, countries that supported Ethiopia in the Ogaden War, calling them "new imperialists". The CIA determined that the Soviet Union was not behind the coup attempt, but were seeking to remove Barre. Immediately following the coup, Somalia began receiving foreign aid from the People's Republic of China.28. Somalia (1960–present) https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/somalia-1960-present/ uca.edu University of Central Arkansas 16 June 2020 24 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200824233122/https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/somalia-1960-present/ dead References Category:Coups d'état in Somalia Category:1970s coups d'état Coup attempt Category:1978 conflicts Category:April 1978 in Africa Category:Siad Barre Category:Attempted coups d'état in Africa Category:Military history of Mogadishu