In 1991, after the collapse of the
Somali Democratic Republic, Omar led the Somali National Front (SNF), whose area of operation stretched from the
Gedo region of Somalia, to
Kismaayo which was captured in 1999. For most of the civil war the SNF governed and conducted operations in the
Gedo region of southern Somalia. The SNF's political leadership, was led by former Defense Minister General Omar Haji Masallah, and based in
Nairobi,
Kenya, while the military wing led by
General Mohammed Hashi Ghani,(former governor of Hargiesa) was based in the city of
Luuq, Gedo. The organization would be consistently represented at all major national reconciliation and
peace conferences over the 1990s. == References ==