Juba Valley Alliance

The Juba Valley Alliance (JVA; Somali: Isbahaysiga Dooxada Jubba) is a political faction of the Somali Civil War. It was the primary opponent of the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM) and the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) vying for the control of Kismayo and the Juba River valley, the area known as Jubaland.

Juba Valley Alliance
LeadersCol. Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale
Col. Abdulahi Sheik Ismael Fara-Tag
Dates of operationJune 2001 - 2008
Group(s)Marehan[1]
HeadquartersKismayo(former)
Active regionssouthern Somalia
OpponentsSomalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC)
Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM-Harti)
Islamic Courts Union (ICU)

Following the breakdown of central authority in the Somali Civil War, General Hersi "Morgan" declared Jubaland independent on September 3, 1998.[2]

Opponents to General "Morgan" came from the Somali Marehan, Ogadeni and Warsangeli ethnic groups. The Marehan Somali National Front (SNF) and other tribal allies grouped together as the Allied Somali Forces (ASF). They ousted General "Morgan" from Kismayu in June 1999.[3]

The ASF administration renamed itself the Juba Valley Alliance in June 2001, and threw its support behind the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).[4] The leader of the JVA is Colonel Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale, who later became Defense Minister for the TFG. The militia commander of the JVA is Col. Abdulahi Sheik Ismael Fara-Tag.

On June 18, 2001, an 11-member interclan council decided to ally the JVA with the newly establishing Transitional Federal Government.[5]

On August 6, 2001, after 10 days of heavy fighting in a battle involving 40 technicals and 1,000 militiamen, the JVA took the town of Jilib from the SRRC.[6]

In 2002, the JVA battled with the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), which opposed the TFG, 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]

War in Somalia
Main articles: Rise of the Islamic Courts Union (2006) and War in Somalia (2006-2009)

The JVA suffered the loss of Kismayo in September 2006 to an array of ICU forces with 130 technicals,[9][10] and further defeat during Islamic Court Union's takeover of the Juba Valley in October 2006,[11]

On September 23, ICU forces under Sheik Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki approached Jilib, en route to Kismayo. Juba Valley Alliance forces withdrew without a fight.[12] After the city fell, on September 24, he promised peace to the city after Islamic militiamen broke up an anti-Islamist demonstration with gunfire, killing three teenagers.[13] On October 3, they took Afmadow.[14] Sakow fell to the ICU on October 25–28 after they militarily defeated the Juba Valley Alliance.[15] By December 13, Salagle also fell to them.[16] The city of Baardhere in Gedo region, was the last sought after prize by the ICU but the population there refused them to achieve that goal. Barderians being part of the larger Juba region, the population in Gedo and Bardera in particular, disliked the ICU and its attack on Kismayo. ICU's total control of southern Somalia became impossible at this point. All sides, JVA, ICU and the powerless TGF regrouped and established new alliances and new fronts.

After the Battle of Baidoa (December 20–26), the JVA began to reassert control over the Juba Valley. On December 27, the ICU abandoned its positions in the Juba Valley at Salagle and Sakow, north of Bu'aale.[17]

ICU forces in Kismayo were reported retreating towards Mogadishu, and TFG forces were advancing towards Bu'uale from Dinsoor, while the rest of the Lower and Middle Juba areas were calm.[18] However, no sooner had ICU forces from Kismayo gotten to Mogadishu than they reversed direction, withdrawing back to Kismayo. After their defeat at the Battle of Jilib north of the city, the ICU forces withdrew, and on January 1, 2007, Kismayo fell to the TFG and Ethiopian forces without armed conflict.

Considering the integral part the JVA plays in the TFG's military, it could be said that the JVA has been succeeded by, or incorporated into, the army of the nascent TFG.

The ICU choked the economy of Somalia by putting all resources on the hands of a selected few. Although the mistakes of the ICU were many, the economy factor, the attack of Kismayo and the murdering of the bed-ridden JVA fighters who were at the Bu'ale Hospital hastened the fall of the ICU phenomenon in Somali politics of the recent years.[19]

References
  1. "Somalia: Main Political Organizations". Mudug.com. Archived from the original on 2006-09-27. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  2. Footnotes to History: G to J Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Footnotes to History
  3. Somalia Assessment, September 1999 Country Information and Policy Unit, Immigration & Nationality Directorate, Home Office, UK
  4. "Somalia". World Statesmen. Retrieved March 9, 2006. - also shows Italian colonial flag & links to map
  5. Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Somalia, 11 Oct 2001, Document S/2001/963 United Nations Security Council
  6. Simultaneous Heavy Fightings Erupt in Somalia People's Daily
  7. Recurrent displacements in southern and central Somalia due to intermittent inter-factional conflicts (2004) Archived 2012-07-20 at the Wayback Machine IDMC
  8. SOMALIA Land Mine Monitor
  9. Somalia's Islamists Resume Their Momentum and Embark on a Diplomatic Path Archived 2009-04-22 at the Wayback Machine PINR
  10. Witnesses: Somali Islamists advance on key port Archived 2015-02-13 at the Wayback Machine. Associated Press, 13 September 2006
  11. War Clouds Loom over Somalia as Military Fronts Open Up Amid a Flurry of Diplomacy Archived 2009-04-22 at the Wayback Machine PINR
  12. Somalia: Islamic militants advancing to Kismayo Archived 2011-08-09 at the Wayback Machine SomaliNet
  13. Somalia: Islamists shooting kills people in Kismayo protest Archived 2011-08-09 at the Wayback Machine SomaliNet
  14. Somalia’s Islamic Courts attain Afmadow in Lower Jubba region Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Shabelle Media Network
  15. Somali Islamists seize strategic post Archived 2006-12-02 at the Wayback Machine Al Jezeera
  16. Islamists seize a new settlement in southern Somalia Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Shabelle Media Networks
  17. Somalia: Insecurity rages in Islamist abandoned areas Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine Shabelle Media Network
  18. Somalia: Situation Report - 27 Dec 2006 OCHA
  19. "Somalia at a critical crossroads". Hiiraan. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
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