Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council

The Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) was a political movement and paramilitary organization based in southern Somalia. It was founded in 2001 by Hussein Mohamed Farrah Aidid, son of the late faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Growing out of the Somali National Alliance (SNA) led by Aidid, the SRRC 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 differences with the government and some moderate leaders were incorporated into the new interim administration.

Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC)
LeadersHussein Mohammed Farah Aidid
Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud
Mohamed Omar Habeb Dhere
Dates of operation2001–November 2004
Group(s)mainly southern clans
HeadquartersMogadishu
Active regionsParts of Mogadishu, southern Somalia
AlliesEthiopia
United States
OpponentsTransitional National Government (TNG)
Juba Valley Alliance (JVA)


Leaders and member Interim Government of Somalia
Position Name Inaugurated Left Office Notes
Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SSRC) (counter-government, at Baidoa)
Chairmen (rotating monthly) Hussein Farrah Aidid 2000 2000
Hilowle Iman Omar                (b. 1938? - d. 2010) USC 2000 2000
Aden Abdullahi Nur 2000 2000
Hassan Mohammed Nur

(b. 1946 - d. 2013)  RRA

 2000 2000
Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail     2001 2001
Secretaries-general
 Mowliid Maane Maxamuud

  (b. 19.. - d. 2012)  SAMO

 26 Mar 2001 Dec 2001
Mohamed Omar Dubad 2001 2001

Somali Civil War
Further information: Somali Civil War

Hussein Aidid refused to recognize the newly forming Mogadishu-based Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia, the precursor of the present Transitional Federal Government (TFG),[1] accusing it of "harboring militant Islamist sympathizers."[2] Instead he formed the rival Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) in early 2001.

On May 12, 2001, his forces captured Mogadishu's seaport after a battle with the Suleiman tribe left 19 combatants and 21 civilians dead.[3]

At some time during late 2001, he advised US President George W. Bush that a money transfer and telecommunications company, Al Barakaat, "had ties to terrorists and that there were terrorists in Somalia sympathetic to Osama bin Laden."[3] He also "warned that militant Islamist Pakistani proselytizers were active in Mogadishu and other Somali cities and that they have strong links to Al-Itihad Al-Islami."[2]

The SRRC was backed by the United States and Ethiopia (see Ethiopian involvement in Somalia) against other factions in the Somali Civil War.[4] On Wednesday, May 15, 2002, Ethiopian soldiers attacked and temporarily captured the border town of Beledhawo with the help of the SRRC after the town had been captured by a rival militia. During the raid, the commander of the rival militia, Colonel Abdirizak Issak Bihi, was captured by the Ethiopian forces and taken across the border to Ethiopia. After the raid, control of the town was turned over to the SRRC.[5]

In June, 2002, faction leader Mohamed Dhere supported the SRRC and fought the TNG.[6]

The SRRC battled with the Juba Valley Alliance (JVA) in 2002, resulting in 6,000 refugees fleeing Bulo Hawa. In 2003, there were 15,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) accommodated in Kismayo. Fighting throughout southern and central Somalia resulted in 86,000 IDPs by 2004.[7] Landmines were cited as a problem affecting the area due to the fighting between the JVA and SRRC.[8]

In July 2003, at the Somali National Reconciliation Conference, the SRRC and TNG leadership reached key compromises: "The TNG accepted the number of parliamentarians proposed by the SRRC while the latter approved the inclusion of politicians as requested by the TNG."[9]

References
  1. Somali warlords form unity council BBC
  2. Africa Policy E-Journal, December 2002 Archived 6 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine Africa Action
  3. Timeline Somalia Timelines.ws
  4. Mohamed Ahmed Jama, “Securing Mogadishu: Neighbourhood Watches,” in Whose Peace is it anyway? Connecting Somali and International Peacemaking Approaches, Accord 21, Conciliation Resources, 2010, 66.
  5. Ethiopian troops 'in Somalia' (BBC)
  6. Heavy Fighting Resumes in Somalia People's Daily
  7. Recurrent displacements in southern and central Somalia due to intermittent inter-factional conflicts (2004) Archived 20 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine IDMC
  8. SOMALIA Land Mine Monitor
  9. Weekly Sitrep no. 20 (Covering from 05 to 11 July 2003) NOVIB SOMALIA Somali National Reconciliation Conference
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