Mogadishu riots of July 1989
The Mogadishu Riots of 1989 (Somali: Jimcaha Madoow, lit. 'Black Friday') were a series of violent events that took place in the capital city of Somalia on July 14, 1989. A significant event in modern Somali history, the riot was the first serious violence Mogadishu had seen in decades and preluded the approaching Somali Civil War.The riots were sparked by the assassination of Roman Catholic Bishop of Mogadishu Salvatore Colombo and the subsequent arrest of several Muslim religious leaders by the Barre regime.
| Mogadishu Riots of 1989 | |
|---|---|
| Part of Somali Rebellion | |
 Mogadishu in the 1980's | |
| Native name | Jimcaha Madoow (Black Friday) |
| Location |  Mogadishu,Somalia |
| Date | 14 July 1989 |
| Deaths | Approx. 400 civilians killed |
| Injured | Approx. 1000+ civilians injured[1] |
| Perpetrators | Siad Barre regime |
The violence, which was carried out by government forces, resulted in the deaths of approximately 400 people, according to human rights groups and independent sources. The Somali government, however, denied these reports and claimed that only 23 people died and 59 were injured. In the aftermath of the riots, around 2,000 people were arrested and 46 men from the Isaaq clan were summarily executed by the military outside Mogadishu in an event now known as the Jazeera Beach Massacre.
The explosion of violence in the capital led to international condemnation towards the Barre regime, withdrawals of foreign support and inflamed anti government sentiments.
Assassination of Archbishop Colombo and arrest of Sheikhs
9 July Assassination of Archbishop Colombo
Pietro Salvatore Colombo, was an Italian Catholic who served as the Bishop of Mogadishu and had lived in Somalia for over 40 years. Colombo was highly regarded by both the Catholic community and the Muslim population.[2] On 9 July 1989 he was assassinated by a lone shooter, and the Barre regime immediately blamed the assassination on Islamic fundamentalist's.[3] This claim was widely called into question by Christian groups, human rights organizations and Somali citizens at the time.[2][4][5] There was widespread suspicion that Archbishop Colombo had in fact been assassinated by government forces.[5]
13 July 1989 arrest of Sheikhs
On 13 July 1989, four Sheikhs were arrested in Mogadishu.[5] This action is believed to have been a major catalyst for the violence that erupted in the city on 14 July. The exact circumstances of the arrests are unclear, with some sources suggesting that the Sheikhs were planning to lead demonstrations against the government, while others claim that the arrests were made in anticipation of potential demonstrations. The arrests, which were carried out by government forces, sparked outrage among the Muslim community and are believed to have contributed to the escalation of violence that followed.[5][6][4]
Mogadishu Riot
14 July 1989 Friday prayer massacre and riots
On the day following the arrests, during Friday prayers at the Sheikh Ali Suufi mosque in Hodan District, an Imam named Abdirashid Ali Suufi delivered a sermon condemning the regime. In response, government troops surrounded the mosque midway through the address. Upon completing their prayers, people left the mosque to the sight of a large cordon of armed government forces. Some in the crowd began shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) while walking down the road.[3] This action prompted a riot to ensue, during which stones were thrown at security forces and the latter responded with heavy machine gunfire into the crowd. News of the shooting lead to further riots spreading throughout the city and was ultimately suppressed by government, resulting in the deaths of scores of civilians. In a bid to halt the escalating violence, the government imposed a curfew on the capital and fired upon those who broke it, causing further casualties. As a result, clashes between citizens and government troops still managed to escalate and violence rapidly spread to other areas of the city. The fighting was the worst disturbance Mogadishu had experienced and was a precursor to the major fighting that occurred in 1991.[5][6][4][7]
Government raids and detentions
Witnesses claimed that soldiers searched homes all over the city during the night of the riots, detaining men, raping women, and plundering. Almost 2,000 people were detained during these searches.[5]
Casualties
Africa Watch, a human rights organization, reported that approximately 400 individuals were killed and over 1,000 were injured during the events, but many were hesitant to seek medical treatment due to fear of arrest. The government stated that only 23 individuals were killed and 59 were injured, blaming the violence on "troublemakers" and further dismissed reports of around 400 deaths as "sensational propaganda."[5]
The Jazeera Beach Massacre
The Jazeera Beach Massacre, was a mass execution that took place on July 15, 1989, one day after the Mogadishu Riots. According to eyewitness accounts, government troops known as the Red Berets rounded up approximately 48 Isaaq men at random and drove them in trucks to Jazeera Beach, located 20 miles south of Mogadishu. The Red Berets ordered the handcuffed prisoners into a sandy gorge and fired point blank into them. A young Isaaq man who survived the executions by pretending to be dead and later escaping to the neighboring country of Djibouti was the sole survivor of the massacre. The massacre was a highly publicized and controversial event that further fueled tensions in Somalia and contributed to the onset of the Somali Civil War.[6][5][4]
Aftermath
The incident had significant consequences for the Barre regime and its relations with the United States, which had previously been its principal source of financial and military support. Human rights organizations condemned the violence and accused the U.S. of complicity. In response, the Bush administration withdrew its request for more than $20 million in emergency economic support for the Somali government and began distancing itself from President Siad Barre. The size of the American embassy in Somalia was also significantly reduced, going from 189 to 85 employees.[6]
No one in the government was ever prosecutoed in connection with either the Mogadishu or Jazeera Beach massacres. It is widely believed that the Red Berets, a unit of around 5,000 troops led by the son of President Siad Barre, were responsible for the majority of the killings. Despite this, many analysts agreed that it was unlikely that President Barre himself directly ordered the attacks and that the violence instead highlighted the lack of control over his military forces.[6]
References
- ^ "Somalia Executes 46 After Rioting". The New York Times. 22 July 1989.
- ^ a b "Aid to the Church in Need - Religious Freedom in the Majority Islamic Countries. 1998 Report". web.archive.org. 2006-08-23. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
- ^ a b Yuusuf, Muuse (2021). Genesis of the civil war in Somalia : the impact of foreign military intervention on the conflict. London [England]: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7556-2712-7. OCLC 1238133342.
- ^ a b c d Fieldwork under fire : contemporary studies of violence and survival. Carolyn Nordstrom, Antonius C. G. M. Robben. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1995. ISBN 978-0-520-91571-8. OCLC 43476604.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h Ap (1989-07-22). "SOMALIA EXECUTES 46 AFTER RIOTING". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
- ^ a b c d e Henry, Neil (1990-02-19). "MASSACRE IN SOMALIA SPURRED SHIFT IN U.S. POLICY". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
- ^ "Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1989". US Department of State. 1990-02-01. Retrieved 2023-01-01.