1963–1965 Ogaden rebellion

In the aftermath of World War II, Somali leaders in the Ogaden region of the Ethiopian Empire persistently advocated for self-determination. Despite their efforts, both the Ethiopian government and the United Nations consistently disregarded their demands. In April 1961 a group of nearly 100 Somali refugees arriving in Hargeisa from the city of Degehabur in the Ogaden reported that the Ethiopian army had surrounded the city and then machine gunned residents. Referring to the incident as a massacre, the refugees claimed the attacked resulted in the deaths of over 150 Somalis. The reprisal had been in response to a petition created by Somali leaders in the region requesting independence from Ethiopia. The following year, Mukthal Dahir would be released and appointed the district commissioner of Degehabur. == Outbreak ==

On 16 June 1963, the Ethiopian government began its first attempts to collect taxes in the Ogaden region, greatly incensing the already discontent Somali population, as they had lived without taxation for centuries. At Hodayo, a watering place north of Werder, 300 men of Nasrallah picked Mukhtal Dahir to lead an insurgency against the Ethiopians under the banner of the al-Jaysh ( الجيش in Arabic) or Jabhada (the front). The group was most commonly referred to as Nasrallah, though often referred to by foreigners as the Ogaden Liberation Front. The organization would form the foundation of the future Western Somali Liberation Front. Some of the guerrillas were equipped by the Somali government, though Dahir would later allege that the only substantial support that they had received from Somalia had been related to treating wounded and taking in refugees.'''' == The Nasrallah insurgency ==

For several months the insurgency fought against the Ethiopian army, swelling from just 300 to an estimated 3,000 to 12,000 insurgents (estimates greatly vary) and eventually forming a "liberation government". Many neutral Ogaden Somalis had been alienated by the loss of relatives, herds and homes in Ethiopian reprisal raids on their border villages, inflaming the resistance. and Ethiopian-Somalia border The insurgencies surprising early success is attributed to the terrain advantage the Ogaden offered, ideal for traditional guerrilla hit-and-run tactics, placing the mechanized troops at a large disadvantage. In response these centers were reinforced and deployed motor patrols, which were repeatedly ambushed by rebels seeking to obtain arms. The Ethiopian army's lackluster performance against the insurgents bolstered their confidence, encouraging them to expand their activities. However, their hit-and-run tactics ultimately proved insufficient to weaken the strategic control of the Ethiopian Empire. According to the Central Intelligence Agency, Ethiopian Defense Minister General Merid Mengesha would come under fire for the poor showing of the military against the Ogaden rebels. The Ethiopian government argued that the conflict was a result of armed bandits being sent across the border by Somalia to harass the country into ceding a large slice of Ethiopian territory, to which the Somali government repeatedly denied that the it either inspired or fomented the troubles in Ogaden. Despite the Ethiopian government's allegations, it was widely recognized that the Somali government could assert no real control over the Ogaden insurgents, as the rebels had made it clear that they were not willing to take orders from Mogadishu, despite desiring its recognition. A CIA report submitted to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson would conclude, "Somali authorities show no ability to control the tribesmen whose depredations so infuriate the Ethiopians." Suppression of insurgency and first border clashes In August 1963 Ethiopian forces regrouped and the 3rd Division of the Imperial Army swept back through the Ogaden with relative ease, aided an eight-week-long air campaign against Somali targets on both sides of the border and the inexperience of the guerrillas. Despite regaining control of large portions of the region the 3rd Division was unable to stamp out the insurgency. By September 1963 the insurgents were reported to have some 3000 members. The rebels were severely hampered by the lack of an integrated command structure and weaponry needed to combat the 3rd Division. That fall insurgents were noted to be active in Degehabur, Wardheer, Qabridahare, Fiq, Godey, and Kelafo, where they overran police stations and ambushed army convoys. == 1964 Border War and decline ==

During the 1964 war most insurgent activity in the Ogaden halted as rebels went to bolster the Somali border. Following the war the insurgency declined under military pressure from Ethiopia and diplomatic pressure from Somalia. In 1965, a delegation from the "provisional revolutionary government of the Ogaden" visited Syria to protest Ethiopian aggression. By 1965, the insurgents ran out of ammunition, and were being chased out of the region by the imperial army, although insurgent elements remained active until the formation of the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) in 1973. == References ==