By the late 1980s, Barre's regime had become increasingly unpopular. The State took an increasingly hard line, and insurgencies, encouraged by
Ethiopia's communist
Derg administration, sprang up across the country. Being a member of the
Hawiye clan, a high ranking government official and an experienced soldier, Aidid was deemed a natural choice for helping lead the military campaign for the United Somali Congress against the regime, and he was soon persuaded to leave
New Delhi and return to Somalia. The USC copied the organisational structure and mobilisation patterns of the SNM, Although its members largely started off as associates of
SODAF,
SSDF and
SNM, the USC in Rome had its own political program that offered a decentralised system to address the growing discontent with central rule after 10 years of rebel opposition. "The USC shall formulate national policies, strategy and plans of action to effectively establish and consolidate a Federal Central Government and a democratically elected parliament that truly represents all the Somali citizen. As well as establish the principle of regional self government. This will help create a systematic decentralisation of governmental institutions and support local planning and decision-making, community initiative and participation which will eventually lead to the people self-reliance in all aspects of their political, social and economic lives" The USC military wing was formed in late 1989 in
Mustahil, a native Hawiye area of
Ethiopia, and led by
General Mohamed Farrah Aidid until his demise in 1996. Being a member of the
Hawiye clan, a high ranking government official and an experienced soldier, Aidid was deemed a natural choice for helping lead the military campaign for the United Somali Congress against the regime, and he was soon persuaded to leave
New Delhi ambassadorship position and return to Somalia to participate in he
Somali Rebellion.
Somali Civil War and collapse of Barre regime Following Aidids defection, he had received an invitation from Ethiopian President
Mengistu Haile-Mariam, who gave Aidid permission to create and run a USC military operation from Ethiopian soil. From base camps near the Somali-Ethiopian border, he began directing the final military offensive of the newly formed United Somali Congress to seize Mogadishu and topple the regime. The USC was at that time split into three factions: USC-Rome, USC-Mogadishu, later followed by USC-Ethiopia; as neither the first two former locations were a suitable launching pad to topple the Barre regime.
Ali Mahdi Mohamed, an influential member of the congress who would later become Aidid's prime rival, opposed Aidid's involvement in the USC and supported the Rome faction of the Congress, who also resented Aidid. The first serious signs of fractures within the USC came in June 1990, when Mahdi and the USC-Rome faction rejected the election of Aidid to chairman of the USC, disputing the validity of the vote. That same month Aidid would go on to form a military alliance with the northern
Somali National Movement (SNM) and the
Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM). In October 1990, the SNM, SPM and USC would sign an agreement to hold no peace talks until the complete and total overthrow of the Barre regime. They further agreed to form a provisional government following Barres removal, and then to hold elections. By November 1990, the news of Gen. Aidid's USC forces overrunning President
Siad Barres 21st army in the
Mudug,
Galgudud and
Hiran regions convinced many that a war in
Mogadishu was imminent, leading the civilian population of the city to begin rapidly arming itself. This, combined with actions of other rebel organizations, eventually led to the full outbreak of the
Somali civil war, the gradual breakup of the
Somali Armed Forces, and the toppling of the Barre regime in Mogadishu on 26 January 1991. Following the
power vacuum left by the fall of Barre, the situation in Somalia began to rapidly spiral out of control, and rebel factions subsequently began to fight for control of the remnants of the Somali state. Most notably, the split between the two main factions of the United Somali Congress (USC), led by Aidid and his rival
Ali Mahdi, would result in serious fighting and vast swathes of Mogadishu would consequently destroyed as both factions attempted to exert control over the city. Both Ali Mahdi and Aidid claimed to lead national unity governments, and each vied to lead the reconstruction of the Somali state. would be instrumental in bringing about the ouster of the Barre government on January the 26th 1991, with the ruler fleeing into exile in Kenya. Despite the Kenyan Government militarily supporting Barre in his fight with the USC before and after his overthrow, the USC pursued Barre's forces into Kenya causing a long diplomatic and military row with President
Daniel Arap Moi before he was offered by the then-OAU to retire in Lagos, Nigeria. Despite the victory however, the USC had failed to manage a political settlement with its rivals, the
SNM,
SPM and the
SSDF, and also fragmented within its own leadership after
Ali Mahdi Muhammad was declared interim President.
Aidid-Ali Mahdi split Both Ali Mahdi and Aidid claimed to lead national unity governments, and each vied to lead the reconstruction of the Somali state. In 2001, Hussein Aidid founded the
Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), a new armed opposition group. Growing out of the Somali National Alliance, it was originally formed to oppose the nascent
Transitional National Government (TNG) and the
Juba Valley Alliance (JVA) in the 2001–2004 period. However, it eventually settled its differences with the government in 2003, with some moderate leaders incorporated into the new interim administration. ==Notable personnel==