Obituary:Siad Barre

BY RICHARD GREENFIELD






Mohamed Siad Barre, policeman, soldier, politician: born Shiilaabo, Ogaden, Abyssinian Somaliland c1910; Head of State, Somalia 1969-91; Secretary-General, Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRP) 1976-91; married Khadija Maalin and Dalyad Haji Hashi; died Lagos 2 January 1995.



On the evening of 26 January 1991 Mohamed Siad Barre was forced by opponents of his regime to flee Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, for his clan homelands. He did not give up his ambition of recapturing the city for many months, but, confronted by a vengeful Somali militia, and alarmed by disagreements between his own family and supporters, Siad eventually fled to Kenya. It was the end of his 22-year rule in Somalia, which had started as Socialist experimentation and degenerated into dictatorship.

For a time after his flight, Siad was accommodated in some style at the expense of the Kenyan government, but popular indignation and a press campaign led the Kenyan president, Daniel arap Moi, to refer the problem to the President of Nigeria, Maj-Gen Ibrahim Babangida, then also chairman of the Organisation of African Unity. Siad's entire party was evacuated by plane to Lagos, although some were refused refugee status and returned.
Read more