Resource conflict and militant Islamism in the Golis Mountains in northern Somalia (2006–2013)

Abstract

The conflict around Galgala, a small town in the Golis Mountains west of Bosaso in northern Somalia, poses the government of Puntland against clan militias and militant Islamists. The conflict was originally over natural resources, but soon turned into a conflict related to the ‘global war on terrorism’. It is additionally complicated due to its location in the contested borderlands between Somaliland and Puntland. The article analyses the effects of these dynamics on the local population and, more generally, on stability and peace in the region. It argues that sustainable solutions to the ongoing conflict can only be found if one takes into account the legitimate claims of the Warsangeli, the clan to which the local mountain dwellers belong, regarding the protection of their land and their resources. The anti-terrorism discourse that is currently foregrounded, mainly by the government of Puntland and its allies including the USA, is likely to inhibit the understanding of issues at stake.

[Les conflits liés aux ressources et l'islamisme militant dans les montagnes de Golis du nord de la Somalie (2006–2013).] Le conflit dans les environs de Galgala, une petite ville située dans les montagnes de Golis à l'ouest de Bosaso, dans le nord de la Somalie, oppose le gouvernement du Puntland aux milices claniques et aux islamistes militants. Le conflit est lié à l'origine aux ressources naturelles mais s'est très vite transformé en conflit lié à la «guerre mondiale contre le terrorisme ». La situation géographique de ce conflit, situé sur les frontières contestées entre le Somaliland et le Puntland, le complique encore davantage L'article analyse les effets de ces dynamiques sur la population locale, et plus généralement, sur la stabilité et la paix dans la région. Il affirme qu'une solution durable à ce conflit peut seulement être trouvée si les revendications liées à la protection des terres et des ressources des Warsangeli, le clan auquel les habitants des montagnes locales appartiennent, sont prises en considération. Le discours anti-terroriste qui est actuellement mis en avant par le gouvernement du Puntland et ses alliés, y compris les États-Unis, risque de freiner la compréhension des questions en jeu.

Keywords:

• resource conflict
• war on terrorism
• Islamism
• Al Shabaab
• Puntland
• Somalia

Mots-clés:

• conflit lié aux ressources
• guerre contre le terrorisme
• islamisme
• Al Shabaab
• Puntland
• Somalie

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology for extensive support with research in northern Somalia between 2003 and 2013. I am particularly grateful to Siciid and Cabdi Shiine for their contributions to this article.

Note on contributor

Markus V. Hoehne, PhD, is a lecturer at the Institute for Anthropology at the University of Leipzig, Germany. Previously, he worked for many years at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle. He has published extensively on conflict, state formation, borders, diaspora, education and political Islam in Somaliland and Somalia.

Notes

1. Somali place and personal names in this text follow Somali orthography. The Latin ‘c’ stands for a sound close to the Arabic (ayn); ‘x’ denotes (ha).

2. In the pre-colonial and colonial past the small port of Laas Qoray in Warsangeli territory was a nodal point in the trade with Yemen. It, as well as the natural port of Ceelayo, is still used for smuggling.

3. Where necessary, names have been changed in order to protect conversation participants.

4. Clearly, a pure ‘clan interpretation’ of the dynamics of conflict in this case would be not satisfactory. (Sub-)clan pride and clan animosities were probably important but still only one factor among others.

5. In the Somali Republic, Ciidanka Daraawiishta (‘the Dervish Army’) was a special mounted police force which patrolled on horseback and was deployed in the countryside. The Puntland army is not a ‘national army’ because Puntland does not claim independence from Somalia. It is therefore called the Dervish Army.

6. The Puntland Intelligence Service (PIS) receives training by the CIA and is allegedly a close partner of the USA in its war against terrorism in the Horn.

7. Translation by the author; written excerpts of the interview in Somali can be found at: http://geesguud.com/gs/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1688:sheekh-maxamed-siciid-atam-wax-wadahadal-ah-lama-furayo-maamulka-putland-dagaalkana-waan-wadayaa&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18.

8. The interview was conducted on 12 September 2010. The audio file can be found online at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/somali/war/2010/09/100912_atam.shtml.

9. By 2011 the PIS had been reformed and was divided into an intelligence unit and a special operations unit. The latter was mostly engaged in fighting the Galgala militias.