1988 Hargeisa-Burao offensive

1988 Hargeisa-Burao offensive
Part of the Somaliland War of Independence
Date27 May 1988 (1988-05-27) – 1 June 1988 (1988-06-01)
Location
Hargeisa and Burao, northern Somalia (now Somaliland)
Result

SNM victory

Belligerents
Somali National Movement Somalia Somali Democratic Republic
Commanders and leaders
Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (Siilaanyo)
Ahmed Mire
Hussein Dheere
Ibrahim Dhegaweyne[3]		 Somalia Siad Barre
Somalia Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan
Strength
5,700[3]
84 armed vehicles		 100 armed vehicles and two aircraft
Casualties and losses
90 killed Over 300 were killed, two aircraft destroyed

The 1988 Hargeisa-Burao offensive[4] (Somali: Gudo-galkii Hargeysa iyo Burco) was a major offensive conducted during the Somaliland War of Independence in May 1988 by the Somali National Movement on the cities of Hargeisa and Burao,[5][6][7][8][9] then the second and third largest cities of Somalia.[10][11] The SNM captured Burao on 27 May within two hours,[12] while the SNM entered Hargeisa on 29 May, overrunning most of the city apart from its airport by 1 June.[8] During the offensive the Somali National Army committed gross human rights violations, including attacking the civilian population using heavy artillery and tanks.[12]

  1. ^ Abdullahi, Mohamed Diriye (2001). Culture and Customs of Somalia. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-31333-2.
  2. ^ Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (2012). Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets. Cambridge University Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-521-14687-6.
  3. ^ a b Prunier, Gérard (2021). The country that does not exist a history of Somaliland. London: Hurst & Company. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-1-78738-529-0. OCLC 1242464786.
  4. ^ "Somaliland: Ten Years On". BBC World Service. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  5. ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "Pastoral society and transnational refugees: population movements in Somaliland and eastern Ethiopia 1988 – 2000". Refworld. p. 6. Archived from the original on 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  6. ^ Mburu, Chris (2002). Past Human Rights Abuses in Somalia: Report of a Preliminary Study Conducted for the United Nations (OHCHR/UNDP-Somalia). p. 12.
  7. ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "Somalia: 1) Detailed map of Somalia and map showing Somalia in the African continent; 2) Information regarding reprisals against Isaaq clan members throughout Somalia, particularly Mogadishu, and against Somali National Movement (SNM) members; 3) Information on the government's attack on Hargeisa in May 1988 and an SNM assault on Mohammed Siyaad Barre Prison in July 1988". Refworld. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  8. ^ a b Abdullahi, Mohamed Diriye (2001). Culture and Customs of Somalia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-313-31333-2.
  9. ^ Waller, David (1993). Rwanda: which way now?. Oxford: Oxfam. pp. 10–12. ISBN 0-85598-217-9. OCLC 29513928.
  10. ^ Binet, Laurence (2013-10-03). Somalia 1991-1993: Civil War, Famine Alert and a UN "Military-Humanitarian" Intervention. Médecins Sans Frontières. p. 214.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Somalia: a government at war with its own people: testimonies about the killings and the conflict in the north. New York, NY: Africa Watch Committee. 1990. p. 128. ISBN 0-929692-33-0. OCLC 24108168.