1963 Ogaden Rebellion

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 picked a former public official named Mukhtal Dahir, to lead an insurgency against the Ethiopians referred to as "Nasrallah" or 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.^{[16][17][10][18]} The New York Times reported a statement on the origins of the insurgency by Mukthal Dahir, who summarized the perspective of the Somali rebels in the Ogaden:

“We wanted our freedom. It was impossible to seek it through democratic means in a country where there is no free speech and no political party machinery, where expeditions are sent to collect taxes by force — seizing camels and mil-let crops. When we asked the Emperor for internal self-government, he threatened to shoot 180 Somali chiefs. He had an inkling what we were up to, and tried to impose a new head tax on cattle. Quran schools were ordered closed, and the laws allowed for one wife and no divorce. All this interfered with Muslim Somali traditions; and as leaders, we were expected to execute this policy. We discussed it and decided to pull out. When the Ethiopians discovered our opposition, they intended to arrest all of us. But by that time we had gone into hiding, where we formed the Liberation Government.”^[16]

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.^[17][10][27] Despite regaining control of large portions of the region the 3rd Division was unable to stamp out the insurgency.^[28] International observers reported at least 500 had been killed in the fighting on both sides.^[27][18]

Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie responded to the insurrection with brutal and repressive crackdowns against the Somalis in the Ogaden region. The Ethiopian government began mounting punitive expeditions on Somali nomads, which consisted of the total destruction or confiscation of livestock in the Somali nomadic pastoral communities.^[17] Most infamous of these reprisals was on the town of Degehabur in what became known locally as the "Kanone Massacre". Degehabur was bombarded by artillery from nearby high ground, which was followed by a killing spree when army troops later entered the settlement. In another notable incident following rebel activity in the town of Shilabo, the Ethiopian army blockaded and shelled the city to punish the inhabitants.^[29] The news of these crackdowns exacerbated the already deteriorating relations between Somalia and Ethiopia, and clashes between their forces began to break out in late 1963 and early 1964. Though the newly formed Somali government and army was weak, it had felt pressured and obliged to respond to what Somali citizens widely perceived as oppression of its brethren by an Ethiopian military occupation.^[30] In late fall 1963, small units of Somali soldiers allegedly began to join and operate with the Somali Ogaden insurgents,^[31] though according to Prof. Klaus Jürgen Gantzel there has never been proof of this.^[32]

During November 1963, the Somali government would sign an agreement with the Soviet Union to begin working toward the creation of a 20,000 man force, effectively quadrupling the size of the Somali National Army, greatly alarming the Ethiopian government.^[33][34][35]

Somali Republic

Composed of seven battalions,^[36] the Somali National Army (SNA) was poorly equipped and around 4,000 strong at the start of the war.^[37][38][39] The army possessed five British made Comet tanks and several armoured cars.^[36]

• Five Comet tanks^[36]
• Six Ferret armoured cars^[36]

By 1964 the Somali Air Force had little combat capacity, as it only possessed transport and trainer aircraft.^{[38][37][39][36]}

• C-47 Skytrains, used by SAF for troop deployments and aerial reconnaissance^[15][40]
• De Havilland Vampire training aircraft, used by SAF for combat air patrols^[15]

Ethiopian Empire

By the start of 1964, the Ethiopian Imperial Army fielded a total of approximately 29,000 to 30,000 men.^[41]

• Several M-24 Chaffee tanks^[42]
• M75 armored personnel carriers

At the time of the war, the Ethiopian Air Force (EAF) was the only country in Sub-Saharan Africa to own and operate F-86 Sabre fighter jets.^[41]

• F-86 Sabre, extensively used by EAF for airstrikes and close air support^[15]
• T-33 Shooting Star, utilized by EAF for demonstrations of force and aerial reconnaissance^[15]

First Incursions

Accounts dispute who launched the first serious incursion, but in mid to late January 1964, either Somali or Ethiopian army units crossed the opposing sides northern border in the Haud.^[51][31][23] The initiator of the conflict is unclear as no impartial third party observed the start of the conflict. Soon both sides had begun making military incursions into each other's respective territories.^[52][53]

Numerous independent written accounts assert that the 3rd Infantry Division of the Ethiopian Imperial army, under the command of General Aman Andom, launched the initial major assault that sparked the war as a punitive response to Somali governments support for the Ogaden insurgency.^{[22][21][23][54][55]} British writer Noel Lytton noted that numerous foreign correspondents from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Egypt who visited the battle area on the Somali side were convinced that Ethiopia had attacked Somalia. Lytton would also note that most diplomatic observers in Mogadishu believed the assault was initiated by Ethiopia with the aim at bringing pressure on the Somali government to halt the insurgency in the Ogaden region.^[21] According to professor Harold G. Marcus, "The American-equipped Third Division moved into Ogaden in full strength and in mid-January 1964 attacked Somali border posts and adjacent towns to warn Mogadishu to cease supporting the rebels. Instead, the Somali government declared an emergency and moved its army to the frontier."^[23]

According to other independent accounts, Somali government troops intervened in support of the Ogaden insurgents in January 1964.^[56] Haile Selassie's government claimed that 2,000 Somali troops had invaded with artillery support in order to put pressure on the 10 Ethiopian outposts along the northern frontier.^[57]

In the view of Professor Jules Davids, evidence indicated that the conflict had been initiated not by the Somali government but by the Ogaden insurgents, resulting in the Somali government being caught completely unprepared for a military engagement.^[8]

Escalation and states of emergency

On 4 February, Emperor Haile Selassie presided over and emergency meeting of his Cabinet—followed by a second on the 6th, after reports of large‐scale incursion. It was reported over Addis Ababa radio that 30 Somalis had been killed out of 300 man force that had attempted to cross the border in Jigjiga Province.^[58]

According to Somali prime minister Abdirazak Haji Hussein, government officials across the country were summoned back to Mogadishu in early February after reports of a large scale incursion by the Ethiopian military on the northern frontier. In the view of the Somali government, the Ethiopian Empire's objective was to cut off the former British Somaliland from the south and induce a declaration of independence from the Somali Republic. Commenting on state of the Somali National Army at the start of the war Hussein wrote, "Our fragmentary army of not more than 5,000 men could not have been less prepared and equipped than it was then. The Soviet supplies had not yet reached us, and the only weapons we had for our forces were some World War II machine guns and artillery..."^[59]

Southern Clashes and Organization of African Unity Brokered Ceasefire Attempts

Despite the ceasefire at Tog Wajaale the day before, on the 12 February 1964, fighting continued and began spreading further south along the border, with the majority of combat taking place on the Somali side.^[76][31]

The Ethiopian Air Force began strikes across the southwestern frontier against the towns of Feerfeer and Galkacyo.^[77][78] The Somali Information Ministry claimed that the towns of Buuhoodle, Baledk, Haranka and Hididin had all been strafed by Ethiopian aircraft and further alleged that Feerfeer had been bombed for two hours, followed by two unsuccessful attacks by Ethiopian troops.^[79][76] Ethiopian forces claimed to have wiped out nine Somali army trucks packed with troops that night.^[79] That day both sides broadcast their perspectives on the reasons for the continuing conflict via radio:

Addis Abba Radio Service in Amharic broadcast 1100 GMT:^[80]

The Somali Republic is the only government which has entrenched in its constitution clauses providing tor expansion in an age when the destruction of European leaders who embarked on expansion is now remembered as a good salutary lesson...But the little Somali Republic adopted this policy of greater Somalia, which was first introduced by colonialists, three years ago. The only work of Abdirashids government since it formation has been to poison the minds of the people with this policy.

According to Abdirashid's plans and aims the answer is simple: They will take a third of Kenya, the whole of Djibouti, and, according to Mogadishu radio, all the Ethiopian territories east of Awash. It means that greater Somalia will be made up from the whole of these territories. Many people may laugh at this, but the fact that Abdirashid's regime takes it seriously should not be overlooked. The result has been that they have not made any development plans to improve the condition of the people, but rather embarked on building a strong army to perpetuate their term of office. Unemployment has increased and so have hardships.

The people started to murmur and showed signs of uprising; the result was the invasion of Ethiopia, Abdirashid's plan is to declare a state of emergency throughout the republic after invading Ethiopia and to get the opportunity to arrest and imprison his opponents and other peaceful leader of the people and annul the elections which are approaching. He is not worried about the losses which will be inflicted upon the people by the double blow which Ethiopia is dealing to see that her territorial sovereignty is respected. He does not care if Somalis are stopped from crossing into Ethiopia and he does not care if Somali soldiers are wiped out after entering Ethiopia. All selfish leaders do the same.

His Imperial Majesty has informed many government leaders and heads of state the conflict can cease only if Abdirashid abandons his expansionist policy; otherwise Ethiopia must ensure that her national sovereignty and dignity are respected. The consequent damage will not fall on Abdirashid and the leaders only, but all Somalis will regret and find it better. They could find a better alternative.

Radio Mogadishu in Somali broadcast 1010 GMT:^[80]

The Habesha have broken the agreement for the cessation of fighting on both sides of the frontier. At 0545 today, the Habesha army invaded the Somali police post at Feerfeer. The Somali police and military forces there opened fire in retaliation at the invading Habesha troops. The fighting at Feerfeer is reported to be continuing.

Yesterday the Somali Government acted in compliance with the request of the UN Secretary General and world leaders that the border fighting should cease. However, the Habesha army renewed the fighting at the village of Abdulkadir on the Somali border at Dabegorayaleh and Ina Guha. Before the invasion of Feerfeer by the Habesha army Addis Abba radio said this morning that fighting was continuing at Feerfeer. This proves that Addis Ababa radio knew the areas to be attacked by the Habesha army before the fighting. However, the Somali police and army gallantly defeated the Habesha enemy army in the invaded areas.

To date, the Somali republican force has been winning in all encounters. In all engagements, the Habesha army has been crippled and those who survived have taken to their heels. The Somali Government has informed the UN Secretary General, the OAU, and African heads of state about the fresh fighting brought by the Habesha army to the territory of the Somali Republic. The Somali Government has asked the United Nations and the OAU to send an impartial commission to the scene of the fighting end see for themselves how the Habesha army is annihilating the Somali civilian population, livestock, women and children.

The Somali army is confident that it will defend the motherland from the enemy and that the enemy will never set foot in it, The Somali people; civilians and not soldier or policemen, have been reported to have started fighting at several eras against the Habesha army and that many towns have been captured from the Habesha army. Many Habesha troops have been killed there. The Habesha army is carrying a chip on its shoulder.

On 13 February, the United States would publicly urge Somalia and Ethiopia to cease fighting. The U.S. State Department would comment that it was deeply disturbed by the clashes.^[81] Follow a three-day emergency summit, on February 14 the Organization of African Unity called for an immediate ceasefire to Ethiopian‐Somali border war. The OAU also requested both Ethiopia and Somalia halt “provocative and insulting” propaganda campaigns against each other. Both Ethiopian and Somali delegates immediately pledged that they would abide by the decision.^[82] In Ethiopia, this manifested as war rallies held in cities and villages throughout country, encouraged by government propagandists, that displayed banners declaring, “We will march to Mogadishu,”^[83] and Somalia as radio broadcast condemning Ethiopia imperialism.^[84]

On 15 February, the Somali government accused Ethiopia of attacking frontier posts and shelling villages, despite the cease‐fire which was to begin at noon, and claimed that 117 civilian had been killed in air strikes on 12 different villages.^[83] The Ethiopians counter accused the Somalis of raids into Ethiopia backed by artillery just before the noon deadline.^[85][83] On Monday, 17 February, the ceasefire appeared to hold and Premier Abdirashid Ali Shermarke of Somalia reported at a news conference the Ethiopian frontier had been quiet for the day.^[86] Soon after, the truce broke and fighting continued. Another OAU ceasefire was attempted in early March, but would also collapse after two days.^[87]

In late February, presidents Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania would both suggest the establishment of a peacekeeping forces to patrol the disputed region. Somali president Aden Abdullah Osman would publicly agree with the proposal on 22 February.^[88]

Heavy fighting was reported across the border on 6 March 1964.^[89] Soon after Somalia declared a general mobilization.^[90]

Final Clashes and Truce

In mid-March 1964, Somalia and Ethiopia once again opened negotiations in Khartoum, Sudan, in an effort to resolve their border war at the request of numerous African heads of state.^[11]

While negotiations were ongoing in Khartoum sharp fighting resumed on 26 March 1964 around four northwestern Somali border posts—Daba Goriale, Durukhsi, Inia Guha and Abdulkadir. The Somalis charged the Ethiopians with attacking the outposts with airstrikes and artillery, while the Ethiopians countered that Somali troops had launched an attack, killing several of its troops.^[19] The Somali Air Force would dispatch Douglas DC-3 transport aircraft to carry out aerial reconnaissance along the border between the town of Yeed and the city of Beledweyne.^[40]

The next day, the Somali government further claimed that Ethiopian troops had become engaged in combat with civilians and soldiers in the border village of Habas, and warned that the renewed fighting jeopardized the Khartoum talks.^[91] The Ethiopian Defense Ministry reported that the Somali military, supported by tanks and artillery, had been repulsed and that eight Ethiopians and twenty six Somalis were killed, with one Somali tank reported destroyed and another captured.^[92] The Somali government claimed that numerous Ethiopian armored vehicles and a military camp had been destroyed.^[91] During the fighting Ogaden insurgents assisted the Somali army by severing supply lines and assaulting Ethiopian military units to the rear of the front line.^[93]

Aid to Ethiopia

In mid February, US Air Force transport aircraft flying out from West Germany would deliver plane loads of both arms and ammunition to aid the Ethiopian army.^[105][106] US military assistance during the conflict included deployment of US army combat training teams and the construction of an air base close to the Somali border.^[51][107] The United States abandoned its usual position of neutrality in the Ethiopia-Somali dispute soon after fighting in the Ogaden erupted into a full-scale border war in February and sided with Ethiopia. The Johnson administration had at first attempted to be to be impartial but as the fighting continued, carried out emergency military airlifts and deployed combat training teams with Ethiopian forces. Notably, after the Ethiopians had reportedly inflicted serious damage on Somali forces, Washington threatened to cut off all military aid to Addis Ababa in order to deter the Ethiopian generals who wanted to, "teach the Somalis a lesson" and attempt to push all the way to the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The scale of American support to Ethiopia was significant enough that the U.S. embassy in Mogadishu sent a cable cautioning Washington that if the full extent of American involvement in the conflict was discovered, there would be a serious political fallout with Somalia.^[107]

The Somali Defence Ministry alleged that British troops and planes fought on Ethiopia's side, and that seven trucks loaded with British soldiers arrived from Kenya at Dolo.^[108] The Ethiopian government denied receiving aid from Britain or elsewhere.^[108] Several weeks into the war, a government spokesman announced on Addis Abba radio that Ethiopia had neither sought or received any foreign assistance.^[109]

Aid to Somalia

Egypt delivered plane loads of ammunition and infantry rifles to the Somali Republic on the orders of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, after he received news about the dire equipment situation of the Somali National Army.^{[78][110][111]} Most notably, they delivered the semi-automatic Hakim rifle (Somali: Xakiim), which played a critical role given that the SNA only had an estimated 2,500 infantry rifles at the onset of the war. This supply of rifles was therefore crucial for maintaining combat operations.^[112][113] Notably, Cairo was hesitant to extend further military support to Somalia beyond what was considered necessary. This reluctance was due to the perception of the conflict as a drain on Egypt's significant military commitments in the North Yemen Civil War.^[114]

Ethiopian authorities alleged Somalia was receiving outside military help, though did not specify who from, only mentioning that it was from non-Africans.^[108]

Result

Despite perceptions in Somalia and Ethiopia that the 1964 war resulted in respective victories,^[59][115] numerous independent military analysts and observers have concluded that the result of war was inconclusive with no decisive victor.^{[116][117][118]} Both nations armed forces had launched intrusions into the others territory at some point during the conflict, only to be chased back across the border.^[3]

International response

The border war led to the Organisation of African Unity passing the Cairo declaration in July 1964, which called on all member states to respect existing colonial borders.^[127] Most members of the OAU were alienated by idea Somali irredentism and feared that if a Greater Somalia project was successful, the example might inspire their own ethnic minorities divided by colonial borders to agitate for secession.^[33] Somalia would dissent from the OAU's affirmation of present borders, and continue to agitate for a unification referendum in the Ogaden.^[128]

Ethiopia and Kenya concluded a mutual defense pact in 1964 in response to what both countries perceived to be the continuing threat from Somalia.^[33] Following the war, American policy in the Horn of Africa became less impartial and more openly pro Ethiopian.^[107]

Ogaden Somalis

It was widely recognized during the Khartoum negotiations that any peace accord with the Somali government would not halt the Ogaden insurgency and numerous international observers professed the belief that no genuine lasting progress could be made unless a degree of recognition was given to the nature of the Ogaden liberation movement, which many regarded by many as a genuine independence movement.^[11] These concerns were confirmed following signing of the peace accord between Somalia and Ethiopia, when leader of the Ogaden insurgency Muktal Dalhir declared he would ignore the truce, stating:

“My people are under no one's jurisdiction and take orders from no one but me. We have no intention of observing any cease-fire. Our fight with Ethiopia has nothing to do with Somalia. We are indifferent to the government position, though we still expect and hope our movement will be recognized both by Somalia and by the world.”^[16]

After the war the Ethiopian military once again began taking punitive measures against the Somalis of the Ogaden.^[10] In May and July 1964, over 22,000 domestic animals were either killed or confiscated by Ethiopian troops, devastating Somali nomads’ most precious source of income, resulting in what amounted to economic warfare on the nomadic way of life. The Ethiopian government also introduced a new policy of land registration to encourage Amhara farmers to resettle in the valuable pastureland's in and around the Ogaden that were used by Somali nomads’ herds as grazing areas. Under the new laws, nomads had no recognized claim to these territory and were harassed by the military as a result. Wells frequented by Somali nomads were poisoned, and new ones were created for the incoming migration of Amhara farmers.^[10]

For nearly a year after the war, most major Somali towns in the Ogaden were under military administration and curfew.^[9]

Operation Mäbräq (Operation Lightning)

Ethiopian officials prepared a plan in late 1964 called Operation Mäbräq (Operation Lightning). Concealed in total secrecy, the operation planned out the destruction of Somalia's military capacity and detailed an occupation of the former British Somaliland, to be invoked in the event of a Somali invasion. Two years later, another pair of similar operations, Wall and Bunker, were drafted.^[129]