REEWIN RESISTANCE ARMY (RRA). By Mohamed gedjecel
The first Reewin armed faction to emerge during the Somali civil war, The RRA was founded in a shir (assembly) at Jhaffey, west of Baidoa, on 13 October 1995.
Col. Hassan Mohamed Nur, “Shaargaduud” (Red Shirt) was elected chair, and an executive committee composed of officers, traditional leaders, religious leaders, and intellectuals was established. The formation of the RRA was triggered by the invasion of Baidoa by Mohamed Farah Aideed’s militia on 17 September 1995, which overthrew the local government, the Digil-Mirifle Supreme Governing Council, established in March 1995.
Aideed completed the occupation of Reewin land by capturing Huddur in the Bakool region. The RRA’s first major task was to recruit, train, and arm young Reewin men and women. Former officers supervised the training and all Reewin clans contributed men, arms, and money. Early in 1996, the RRA attacked the more important installations held by Aideed in Huddur and Baidoa.
When reconciliation efforts, especially the Sodere Declaration and Cairo accords, failed after the death of Aideed in a street fight and the succession of his son, “Aideed Junior,” the RRA insisted that it would not negotiate with those who occupied Reewin land. In October 1998, the RRA liberated Huddur and, by early November, Aideed’s militia had retreated to Baidoa.
This victory consolidated the RRA’s military and political status locally and internationally.
On 6 June 1999, the RRA liberated Baidoa and continued to fight against Aideed forces in the Lower Shabelle region.
However, the Arta Reconciliation Conference of May-August 2000, which established a transitional national government, suspended further RRA military action. Nevertheless, within a few months, the RRA broke away from the Arta agreements and began to work toward the establishment of an autonomous state.
Writer: Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed(gedjecel)
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