Historical Figures Codexery

Mohamed Farrah Aidid

Somali military officer, diplomat, and warlord

Mohamed Farrah Aidid

Administration of Aidid · via Wikipedia: Mohamed Farrah Aidid · Public domain

He rose to prominence as a rebel commander who helped topple Siad Barre's regime in 1991 and later became a wanted figure by the United Nations.[1][2] Mohamed Farrah Aidid, a military officer and faction leader, was born in Beledweyne, Italian Somaliland, in 1934.[3]

Quick Facts

Office
President of Somalia (Claimed)
Took office
15 June 1995
Left office
2 August 1996
Successor
Ali Mahdi Muhammad
Predecessor
Mohamed Siad Barre
Party
United Somali Congress/Somali National Alliance (USC/SNA)
Born
15 December 1934
Birthplace
Beledweyne, Italian Somaliland

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Aidid enlisted in the Police Corps of Somalia during the Italian trusteeship and trained at an infantry school in Rome in 1954.[4] He served as Chief of Police in Banaadir Province in 1958 and was a member of the Somali Youth League.[4] After Somalia's independence in 1960, Aidid joined the Somali National Army and was promoted to lieutenant and aide-de-camp to the army's first commander.[5] He studied advanced military science at the Frunze Military Academy in the Soviet Union.[5]

Following the 1969 coup, Aidid was imprisoned in Mandera Prison for nearly six years without trial.[6] He returned to service in the Ogaden War, was promoted to brigadier general, and later served as intelligence minister.[7][8] In 1989, Aidid defected from his ambassadorship in India to join the United Somali Congress rebellion.[1][9] Within the rebel United Somali Congress (USC) and later the Somali National Alliance (SNA), Aidid rose to a major leadership position; in June 1995 he proclaimed himself President of Somalia, a claim that garnered no international recognition.[1][10][11]

What the cited sources add

A Deseret News report from December 1993 states that Aidid arrived in Ethiopia aboard a U.S. military plane for peace talks, dropping his pledge to boycott the conference.[12] The same source quotes Aidid saying "I am confident we Somalis will find a lasting solution to our problems" upon his arrival.[12] Aidid had boycotted a U.N.-sponsored humanitarian meeting and wanted the United Nations to release eight of his aides.[12] The report notes that Aidid's main foe Ali Mahdi Mohamed arrived on a U.N. plane, and Aidid stated "There is no enmity between Ali Mahdi and myself"[12]

The acting State Department spokeswoman defended the decision to transport Aidid in a U.S. aircraft.[12] A U.S. Army C-12 plane transported Aidid to Ethiopia; upon arrival at the airport, he exited an American armored vehicle that had been guarded by both U.S. forces and his own personnel.[12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Mohamed Farrah Aidid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mukhtar, "Historical Dictionary of Somalia", Scarecrow Press, 2003, p. 155–156; Drysdale 1994, p. 44–45 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Mohamed Farrah Aidid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lewis, "SEARCH FOR AIDID OFFICIALLY ENDED", The New York Times, 17 November 1993; Jehl, "Clinton Defends Use of U.S. Plane To Take a Somali Leader to Talks", The New York Times, 7 December 1993; Lauter, "U.S. Flies Somali Clan Leader Aidid to Talks: Former fugitive is escorted to peace negotiations in Ethiopia by American military, which once hunted him", Los Angeles Times, 3 December 1993 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Mohamed Farrah Aidid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mukhtar, "Historical Dictionary of Somalia", Scarecrow Press, 2003, p. 155–156; Purvis, "Wanted: Warlord No. 1", 28 June 1993; Mukhtar, "Historical Dictionary of Somalia", Scarecrow Press, 2003, p. 155–156 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Mohamed Farrah Aidid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mukhtar, "Historical Dictionary of Somalia", Scarecrow Press, 2003, p. 155–156; Ingiriis, "The Suicidal State in Somalia : The Rise and Fall of the Siad Barre Regime (1969-1991)", UPA, 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Mohamed Farrah Aidid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mukhtar, "Historical Dictionary of Somalia", Scarecrow Press, 2003, p. 155–156; Ingiriis, "The Suicidal State in Somalia : The Rise and Fall of the Siad Barre Regime (1969-1991)", UPA, 2016; Aidid, "Somalia: From the Dawn of Civilization to the Modern Times", Vikas Publishing House, 1994, p. 193; Mukhtar, "Historical Dictionary of Somalia", Scarecrow Press, 2003, p. 155–156; Ahmed III, "Brothers in Arms Part I", WardheerNews (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Mohamed Farrah Aidid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: United Nations. Dept. of Public Information, "The Blue Helmets: A Review of United Nations Peace-keeping", United Nations, Dept. of Public Information, 1996, p. 287; Ismail Ali Ismail, "Governance : the scourge and hope of Somalia", Trafford Pub, 2010, p. 214; Ingiriis, "The Suicidal State in Somalia : The Rise and Fall of the Siad Barre Regime (1969-1991)", UPA, 2016; Drysdale 1994, p. 44–45; Richburg, "AIDEED: WARLORD IN A FAMISHED LAND", Washington Post, 8 September 1992 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Mohamed Farrah Aidid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: United Nations. Dept. of Public Information, "The Blue Helmets: A Review of United Nations Peace-keeping", United Nations, Dept. of Public Information, 1996, p. 287; Ingiriis, "The Suicidal State in Somalia : The Rise and Fall of the Siad Barre Regime (1969-1991)", UPA, 2016; Mukhtar, "Historical Dictionary of Somalia", Scarecrow Press, 2003, p. 155–156; Cooper, Tom, "Wings over Ogaden : the Ethiopian-Somali War 1978-1979", Helion & Company, 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Mohamed Farrah Aidid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "CNN – Somali faction leader Aidid dies", 9 September 2007; Daniels, "Somali Piracy and Terrorism in the Horn of Africa", Scarecrow Press, 5 April 2012; Stevenson, "Losing Mogadishu : testing U.S. policy in Somalia", Naval Institute Press, 1995, p. 29; Biddle, "Nonstate warfare : the military methods of guerillas, warlords, and militias", Princeton University Press, 26 July 2022, p. 184 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Mohamed Farrah Aidid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Drysdale 1994, p. 44–45; Richburg, "AIDEED: WARLORD IN A FAMISHED LAND", Washington Post, 8 September 1992 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Mohamed Farrah Aidid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Drysdale 1994, p. 44–45; Ingiriis, "The Suicidal State in Somalia : The Rise and Fall of the Siad Barre Regime (1969-1991)", UPA, 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Mohamed Farrah Aidid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "President Aidid's Somalia", September 1995; Djibouti Conference . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. "SOMALI CLAN LEADER ARRIVES IN ETHIOPIA FOR PEACE TALKS", Deseret News, 3 December 1993. facts only, no text reused. deseret.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Mohamed Farrah Aidid (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Rulers & Leaders

Yaa AsantewaaHenry H. ArnoldP. G. T. BeauregardClaire Lee ChennaultGeorge Armstrong CusterGeorge DeweyDavid FarragutNathan Bedford ForrestUlysses S. GrantRobert E. LeeGeorge C. MarshallOliver North

Elsewhere in Historical Figures

Roger Ailes · Explorers & BusinessCicero · Notable FiguresJoseph Goebbels · Notable FiguresFriedrich Nietzsche · Scientists & InventorsAngela Lansbury · Writers & JournalistsRuan Lingyu · Writers & Journalists

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →