Jubaland

Jubaland
Flag
Capital and largest city	Kismayo
Government
• President	Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan
Independence  From Somalia
• Declared	1998
• Ended by JVA	1999

Jubaland (Somali: Jubbaland) was an ephemeral state in southwestern Somalia that briefly declared independence from Somalia from 1998 to 1999.

In December 1993, Mohammed Said Hersi's troops captured Kismayo, and awaited the departure of Belgian UN peacekeepers who were stationed there. His troops had taken advantage of the UN's preoccupation with Mohamed Farah Aidid and had rearmed and regrouped. Mohammed Said Hersi remained in control of Kismayo until 1999. In that period Hersi Morgan cooperated with his former enemies, the Majerteen of the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Operating from Kismayo Mohammed Said Hersi was also active in the Kenyan border area . His militia rarely fought those Siyad Hussein, Col. Omar Jess, Ahmed Hashi which also operated in this region. Instead, they devoted most of their energies to preying upon IDPs and refugees. The area around Dobley refugee camp earned a reputation as one of the most dangerous and violent places in the entire region; women gathering firewood in the bush were routinely raped by predatory militiamen, aid convoys were looted, and refugees subjected to extortion and shakedowns.

After the SNF had split up between Marehan and other factions Hersi had lost his position as leader in that faction. He then joined the Somali Patriot Movement (SPM), which consisted of Darod tribe militias, the Rahanweyn Resistance Army, and the South Somali National Movement (SSNM). Hersi Morgan was head of the self created entity called Jubaland between September 3 1998—June 11, 1999. However he lost the territory to the Juba Valley Alliance (JVA) under Ahmed Warsame in 1999 and only briefly recaptured Kismayo on 6-7 Aug 2001. The town remained in the hands of the Juba Valley Alliance until 2006.

Sources and References

• Scott catalog