Futuh As-Soomaal - The Conquest Of Somalia

[Aliyyi Oromada]

Inspired by the Chronicles of Azania, author Aliyyi Oromada felt there was an adjacent story that needed to be told. For many centuries the Ethiopians searched for an opportunity to redeem themselves after the humiliation of Futuh al Habasha. This gripping tale follows an Ethiopian army on their mission of redemption from the perspective of the soldier on the ground.

Part 1: "A New Somalia"

His body rocked from side to side, half awake, as the convoy moved across familiar territory. It all looked the same to him really. The long dusty road which connected the border town of Ferfer to central Somalia was not exactly a sight-seeing adventure for Captain Mammo. the 37 year old father of eight. He liked it better in Tullu Aannani, his birthplace in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Situated on a lush green hill, surrounded by rivers feeding a nearby lake, Tullu Aannani was the ideal place for cattle grazing. These cattle provided the best tasting milk in the country, and quite possibly the world. Which is how the village got the name “Tullu Aannanii”, which translates to “Milky Hill”. Milky Way Inc. which is the 2nd largest international producer of dairy products, had sent researchers to Tullu Aannani in the past to examine the soil and water in the village and determine what gave the milk such an amazing taste. Their analysis showed nothing out of the ordinary. Village elders simply explain it as a blessing from the Lord for the kindness and hospitality of the village people. That is until a textile factory moved into the town, depleting its water resources, and releasing chemicals into the lake.

Captain Mammo’s head would wander off to his village at times. He would think about his childrens future and the future of his village. His mind continued to move back and forth. Then the convoy came to a halt.

“Minnew?” he asked an officer, rubbing his eyes.

“ye Somali lijoch” replied the officer.

“Somali lijoch naw!?”. Capt. Mammo was now wide awake, pouring water into his hands to wipe his face. The Somali “lijoch” or “youth” was the group that controlled this region. In this territory they were like an angry swarm of bumble bees, lying in wait behind every bush, every rock, and every tree. When they attacked, they were everywhere, but when they were attacked, they were nowhere. They were fluid, and always on the move. And they preferred to come out at night. Capt. Mammo hated them with a passion. He hated their language, hated their country, and hated their guts. And if he had ever seen their faces, he would their face too.

After surveying the area, the convoy moved on. Certain they were being watched, they had to reach their destination before sunset. Their mission was to establish a base for the newly trained forces of the Anti-Terror Somali Front (ATSF). The group was founded last month during a meeting in Addis Ababa attended by Ethiopian officials, and a local warlord, Suldan Xaaji.

If there was one person in the world Capt. Mammo wanted to execute, it was Suldan Xaaji, or Yaaree as he was known. Standing at 5foot 3 inches, and balding, Yaaree believed he was the next great leader of Somalia. The next Ahmad Gurey. He would always draw similarities between himself and Ahmad Gurey…”I am broud soomali leader, he was broud soomali leader..I am mujaahid, he was also mujaahid…you see? " Yaare said to a group of militiamen, travelling with the Ethiopian convoy.

"A new Somalia! Sunny sky...habby beebal moqdishoo iyo kismaayo...berberah, aall Somalia will be one... I will lead the way! Long live free Soomaaliya! ATSF Hannoolato!"
Suddenly the convoy came to a halt again.

"Waryaa Maammoow, why you are stobbin again!? You are scared of somali jildren. I didn't know ciidanka Itoobiya are scared like this..."

The Ethiopian soldiers disembarked from their vehicles and began unloading the truck. Capt. Mammo ordered the ATSF militia out of their vehicle.

Yaaree quickly jumped up and ordered his troops out of the vehicle. He liked to feel like he was in charge by issuing the same commands Capt. Mammo would give. This annoyed Capt. Mammo very much. Yaaree did not liked to be bossed around or humiliated in front of his troops. In private, okay, but not infront of his troops.

Capt Mammo pulled him aside. "Listen, this is the place. Set up a defensive perimeter. We will build the base."

Yaare looked shocked and appauled. "Maammoow, why we are building base here? We have to go Villa Soomaaliya! You haff a big army, you haff to beleef in yourself. Why we are sleebbin in desert with hyenas?"

Yaare couldn't understand. He had just finished preparing his victory speech. He had a list of names he was considering for prime minister and had already picked a governor for each region. Everything was ready. But Capt. Mammo refused to move forward.

"..I will not repeat myself". Capt. Mammo was tired, hungry, and losing patience. They had to finish the task by morning. Reinforcements were arriving from Ferfer, led by Capt. Mammo's second most hated person after Yaare, Colonel Tekle.

[Talo alle udaa]

Interesting. may i suggest differentiating the anti al shabaab forces
Some of them r tribal militias others r suufi forces. in real life
occasionally the ethiopians slap n arrest some of the somali
commanders for incompetence.

[AbdiWahab252]

The HUDNA

Unknown to the Ethiopians, Somali nationalists had deployed three divisions near Leego to ambush the invaders. In the days before the invasion, there was a loya jirga held in the town of Kuntawareey. The loya jirga was called by the Ugaas Yalaxow who invited all the Ugaases and Imams of the Southern regions. Over 50 Ugaases gathered at Ugaas Yalaxow's compound which was located on a lush banana plantation. They were all seated under the canopy of a large qurac tree.

"Salam aleykum," said Ugaas Yalaxow, a stout 60 something year old man with a long goatee.

"W/Salaam." replied the guests.

"I have called a loya jirga today to discuss the impending crisis. I do not take calling loya jirga's lightly but I have been informed that there will be an invasion of our homeland by the Xabash and their puppets. I am an old man who has survived many a crisis, fought 3 wars against Ethiopia and seen the collapse of our nation. However, I will not stand by idlely and watch the invaders extend their grip over more Somali lands. I have called all of you to discuss how we will face this threat. Discuss among yourselves and decide where you stand before the end of this meeting."

The Ugaases were shocked to hear of the invasion. The started whispering to each other to find out where the others stood on the issue. As they continued to talk amongst themselves, a delegation of men with long beards wearing cimamaads walked towards the meeting. Amongst these men, was the short, red eyed man who donned Afghani clothes. All of the Ugaases stopped talking after realizing it was none other than Grandpapakhalif, leader of the Xarakada.

"Salaam Aleykum Ugaases," he greeted the elderly men.

"W/Salaam," replied the Ugaases.

Grandpapakhalif walked on over to Ugaas Yalaxow and greeted him warmly before walking off with the Ugaas to the villa. Once inside the two men proceeded to talk in great length. Ugaas Yalaxow walked out of the room and made a phone call. He was inviting a second guest to his villa.

About an hour later, a seven vehicle convoy rolled into the compound. Three dozen men dressed in desert camouflage fatigues disembarked. Among them, a tall man who resembled Cisman Caato walked to Ugaas Yalaxow's villa. He was met at the door by the Ugaas who proceeded to take him to the living room.

"Salam Aleykum, Ugaas Yalaxow."

"W/Salaam, General Twisted Logic,"

General Twisted Logic had been in a good mood of recent. His Somali Liberation Army had made significant gains in the South unlike months ago when they were limited to three square kilometers.

When Grandpapakhalif saw Twisted Logic, he became angry and burst into a tirade.

"Ugaas, ugaas, what is wrong with you, why are you meeting with the murtad,"

"Adiga iyo kii ku dhaley ba murtad ah, " replied Twisted Logic.

"Waryada, behave, I am your elder and I have called you together to discuss a grave matter that concerns us all." said Ugaas Yalaxow.

The Ugaas proceeded to share information on the invasion and the lackey allied Somali leader. Grandpapakhalif and Twisted Logic both seemed disturbed at the revelation. Both men despised Maamo and Yareey.

"Gentleman, I am calling you here to form a "hudna""

"What for ?" replied both men.

"The way I see it, if Maamo and Yareey roll into the south, both of you will be persecuted and your power severely curtailed. In the end, you both will be destroyed. For your sakes and that of the country which will become the 6th woreda of Ethiopia, you must accept the hudna and fight the infidels."

"Ugaas, as much as it pains me to agree with your proposal, I will accept the hudna." said a bewildered Twisted Logic who know that the UGaas was right.

"Adeer, so will I. I dislike TL and all that he stands for but hate the Xabashi filth even more."stated Grandpapakhalif.

"Then join me as I announce the hudna to the Ugaases," asked UGaas Yalaxow.

All three men walked back to the meeting.

"UGaases, I am here to announce that the Xarakada and SLA have declared a hudna to fight the invaders and their lackeys." beamed a smiling Yalaxow who proceeded to lifted the two men's hands into the air. Both men started shaking their hands and gave each other hugs.

The Ugaases and Imam started clapping in unison and started chanting, "Soomaliya hanoolato !"

It was clear that the clans now were united behind the hudna.

[Meru]

this is all great, in the near future please merge your stories

[AbdiWahab252]

this is all great, in the near future please merge your stories

Merge ? Where to ?

[waryaa]

awahab, he means collaboration, I guess

nice story

[Saraxnow]

@Aliyyi, more

[Aliyyi Oromada]

Part 2: The Plan

Capt. Mammos orders from Ferfer were to establish a base, and begin gathering intelligence from the locals on the whereabouts of the Somali lijoch. Any vehicles in the vicinity of the major road junction were stopped, searched, and the drivers were questioned.

"Where are their bases?"

"I dont know."

"Shirtam somale, we know they are here! How many are they!?"

"I don't know."

Nobody seemed to know anything about the local lijoch forces. Capt. Mammo was under pressure to provide intelligence so that the military command could determine the next course of action, but he couldn't find anything. So he resorted to a practice in the unwritten field manual. Capt. Mammo ordered his troops to confiscate all the vehicles they search and arrest the drivers. He then gave the order for a group of Ethiopian and ATSF forces to go into the nearby village and to take some villagers in for questioning, preferably youth, businessmen, and elders.

Later in the day a massive ground force of close to 100 Ural trucks, and 10 howitzers led by Colonel Tekle arrived from Ferfer. Capt. Mammo had been worried when he heard that the convoy been ambushed by units of the Ogaden Legion a few days ago. They had lost some vehicles to small arms fire, but nonetheless Mammo was pleased with their arrival. Colonel Tekle had been airlifted to Ferfer to avoid a possible run in with the Legion, which had nearly costed him his life a couple of years ago at a former Chinese Oil exploration site in the Ogaden desert. The experience left him quite paranoid and mentally unstable. Because of this many believed he was clearly unfit for military service, but he continued to hold his position. Many believed it was simply because he was a native of Adwa, and close relative of the Ethiopian Prime Minister. Colonel Tekle was a veteran of the Ethiopian civil war which brought the collapse of the regime of Mengistu Hailemariam. After that he served under the army’s Eastern Command under General Samora Yonis. Between 1992-98 he was engaged in an extensive counter insurgency campaign against the Oromo Bilisummaa Forces in Eastern and Western Hararge. In late 1998, he was moved to the Northern front, to defend his homeland Tigrai, where he bravely stood behind the frontlines and ordered wave upon wave of Ethiopian peasant militiamen to advance past the minefields towards the Eritrean trenches. He was known to open fire on units which refused to advance. The courage he displayed from behind the battlefield earned him his current rank putting him in Command of the ENDF’s 27th Division. The 39 year old Colonel joined the Tigrai Freedom Movement at age 14, and has been a soldier ever since. Loyal to the party doctrine of Revolutionary Democracy, he believed the highest form of Social revolution was through the barrel of the gun. And that people elected their governments by war, and not by voting ballots. He believed that wars are in fact the real elections. He was in the column that entered Mogadishu 5 years ago, but when the Hawiye Rebellion began, he was quickly airlifted to his base in eastern Ethiopia where he watched the humiliating scenes on Jazeera television, of his comrades being dragged in the streets of Mogadishu by Somali women and children. He promised himself that he would never go back, but a few years later here he was.

Capt. Mammo put his troops in formation and as Colonel Tekle stepped out of his vehicle, flanked by his gaurds, Capt. Mammo stood upright in front of his troops and saluted the Colonel. Together they walked into an abandoned hut, which now served as the Colonels office, and began discussing the strategy.

“Satellite images have shown that the Somali lijoch have abandoned Balad weyne and headed east. You and your troops with 200 ATSF will secure the city. The ATSF will hold the eastern part of the city incase the Somali lijoch launch a counterattack. There we will set up the administration of Hiran. Most of the army will go back to kilil aammist as they are needed there. The donkey Legion is threatening our supply route from Jijiga again.”

“But Colonel…what about Mogadishu?”

“Endeeeee! Shambal Mammo! We are here to set up a regional administration… NOT… a national government. That is not our position. Our position is an administration in Hiran, An administration in Galgadud. An administration in Bay and Bakol. An administration in Gedo and Juba. What we will do with Mogadishu, is not clear yet, but this is the order from the office of the Prime Minister.”

Capt. Mammo had not heard of the plan until now. The Revolutionary Council headed by the Prime Minister was very secretive about it’s political and military planning. Capt. Mammo was used to performing certain tasks without knowing the objective of the task. And he knew why. Because he was Oromo, he was a suspected agent for the Oromo Bilisummaa Forces. A rebel group fighting for autonomy in his home region. He could not be trusted. Which is why after so many years of dedicated service to the ENDF, he could not move past the rank of `Shambal`, or Captain in the Ethiopian army. At home rebel supporters accused him of being a traitor to the Oromo cause and a Tigrayan slave, and in the army he was accused of being a rebel spy. This troubled him a lot, and he would always think about it to himself. He saw himself as a simple working man, trying to feed his family. But he was emotionally scarred by it all. He dealt with it by trying not to think about it, and to just think about completing the task at hand. He stood upright before the Colonel glaring straight ahead.

"Yessir".

And that was the end of the meeting. The expedition convoy began packing up.

"Waryaa Maammoow.."

The Captain looked back and saw Yaaree shirtless, running out of his tent towards the convoy, carrying his boots. He had been sleeping all day.

"...dont try to liberate Xamar without me... I know Itoobbiyaan are a sneaky beebal"

Capt. Mammo climbed into his vehicle and clouds of dust filled the air as they set off into the sunset.

[LiquidHYDROGEN]

What does shiritam mean? I see it quite alot lately on the forum.

[Saraxnow]

Loved it

[Aliyyi Oromada]

Part 3: "We cannot control what will come next.."

Capt Mammo layed his head back in the passenger seat and closed his eyes, listening to a tape of Tilahun Gessesse. Under such tremendous stress, the tape was the only thing that could put him to sleep. He had not slept for two nights. Although he was happy to hear that the Somali lijoch forces had vacated the town, he knew the it would have been advantageous to his forces had the lijoch chosen to meet them head on in a daylight show down. The fact that they pulled out without a fight simply meant that they would have to meet that force at a later date, at a time and place of their choosing. All he had to do now was predict that time and place. Simple task. His first thought was that there would be a counter attack from the east, and the solution was to place the ATSF forces there to bear the initial impact of the attack. Then his troops would respond by locating and encircling the countering forces. Another possibility of course is that there were plain clothes lijoch remaining in the town, ready to wage a guerrilla campaign. And do deal with this he would not hesitate to arrest and interrogate every citizen of the town until the culprits were named. They had arrived at the Balad weyne airstrip where they would set up their main base and the Colonel was informed by radio. The Colonel congratulated the Captain advised that the convoy proceed with caution as the lijoch may have mined the road leading into the town. The Captain called out his unit commanders and pulled out a map of the town. Squatting down in front of the truck, using its headlights for lighting, he showing them their destinations.

“Abbaba, you take your force to this point and secure this location. Legesse, this is your destination until further notice. You will secure it and hand it over to the ATSF. Yaaree….some of your forces will head south along the highway and set up a checkpoint. The remainder will go with Legesse.”

A column made its way down the highway flanked by minesweepers, and IED experts trained at Hurso Military Academy by US marines. The Captain himself trained with American forces at Camp Hurso in 2003, and wore his graduation medal with pride. He hoped that one day this medal would be his ticket to America. The promised land. The land of the free, where money grows on trees and no man shall go hungry. It was his dream to go to America and leave behind this life of poverty and endless war. 'America' he said to himself, holding his precious medal…He climbed back into his vehicle, turned the tape on and layed his head back to rest.

Meanwhile the force led by Abbaba Zallaqa, an Addis Ababa native, reached the center of the town. It was nearly sunrise and the streets were empty.

“Allaaaaahu akbar Allaaaaahu akbar….Allaaaaaahu akbar Allaaaaahu akbar….Ashahadu an laaaa Ilaaha IllAllaaaaah…”

The call to prayer sounded, and the streets were still empty. After a few minutes of silence, a few people began trickling onto the streets towards the nearest Mosque. Then slowly more and more people began coming out of their houses and making their way to the Mosque watching Abbaba and his men with caution. After the prayer a group of ATSF soldiers mounted their trucks and drove through the city screaming with megaphones, congratulating the population on their victory. There was no reaction from the people as they drove by waving the national flag blasting loud patriotic music from the Siad Barre era. Abbaba, whose men had taken over an abandoned police station, could not help but ponder on the reaction of the public. They seemed quite keen to distance themselves from the fighters. Were they being watched? Did the lijoch have their men hiding among the population? Why not, he thought. Who knew what the day would bring. It was Friday, and the Mosques were buzzing as thousands attended the congregational prayers.

Meanwhile at the airstrip Capt. Mammo was updating Colonel Tekle on the situation in the town. The Colonel was coordinating an offensive on several fronts and was losing it.

“Shambal…any shirtam somale (skirt wearing somali) you suspect, shoot him!! Just shoot!!! Make an example! Skin them and feed them to the hyenas! Wipe their blood on your chest and wear it with PRIDE! Are you not Jegna!? Are you not Anbessa!?... Do not disgrace our flag! Our NATION! “

After listening to the Colonels rant, Capt. Mammo received an update from the town. There was a disturbance at a local mosque involving the Imam and the Ethiopian/ATSF force. The Imam was delivering a sermon to a massive congregation, inciting the public to defend their town and their dignity against the invading force, and to stand with the resistance. The crowd had exploded into takbeer and emotional cries before Commander Legesse along with members of the ATSF stormed the pulpit and grabbed Sheikh Hassan al Baladwayni, hauling him away. The crowd attacked the militia, and the militia responded by firing live rounds in the Mosque. As crowds gathered to the scene the Ethiopian-ATSF force began hauling people away in their vehicles. The casualties were unknown, but there were many wounded in the confrontation. A protest soon erupted outside the Ethiopia/ATSF base in the eastern part of the city, and soon spread to the west, and people called for the release of the Sheikh, and the handing over of the militia who opened fire on the congregation. Town elders paid a visit to the Ethiopian base and demanded justice. In an attempt to calm the situation Capt. Mammo promised to investigate the matter. This was not enough for the elders.

“If you do not respect even our house of worship…If you do not release the prisoners and hand over those who were responsible for this, from among your army, and the militia of that thug Suldan Xaaji, we cannot control what will come next..”

After the elders left Capt. Mammo got on the radio with the Colonel and explained the situation.

“Hand over Ethiopian troops to those donkeys!? Those scum!! If I hear of this again you will see what I will do..”

As sunset approached, there were sounds of an exchange of gun fire coming from the town. He remembered the warning of the elders, playing it over and over in his head, as the echoes of gunfire continued in the background.