Lieutenant General
Mohammad Ali Samatar
محمد علي سمتر
𐒑𐒙𐒔𐒖𐒑𐒑𐒖𐒑𐒗𐒆 𐒖𐒐𐒘 𐒈𐒖𐒑𐒖𐒂𐒖
Commander-in-Chief of the Somali National Army
In office
25 November 1969 – 1 February 1987
PresidentSiad Barre
Preceded bySiad Barre
Succeeded byAden Abdullahi Nur
Minister of Defence
In office
20 June 1971 – 1 February 1987
PresidentSiad Barre
Preceded bySalaad Gabeyre Kediye
Succeeded byAden Abdullahi Nur
Personal details
Born(1931-01-01)1 January 1931
Kismayo, Italian Somaliland
Died19 August 2016(2016-08-19) (aged 85)
Virginia, United States
Resting placeMogadishu, Somalia
Political partySupreme Revolutionary Council
Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party
Alma materSoviet Union Frunze Military Academy
Military service
Branch/serviceSomali National Army
Rank Lieutenant General
Battles/wars1964 Ethiopian-Somali Border War
Ogaden War
1982 Ethiopian-Somali Border War
Somali Rebellion

Mohammad Ali Samatar. (Arabic: محمد علي سمتر, Somali: Maxamed Cali Samantar, Osmanya script: 𐒑𐒙𐒔𐒖𐒑𐒑𐒖𐒑𐒗𐒆 𐒖𐒐𐒘 𐒈𐒖𐒑𐒖𐒂𐒖; 1 January 1931 – 19 August 2016) was a very senior Somali National hero, Revolutionary, Military Officer, Communist, Politician, former Commander-in-Chief of the Somali National Army, former Minister of Defence, former Vice President, former Deputy General Secretary of the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party, former Prime Minister, a leading figure and the second most powerful man in the Somali Democratic Republic after president Mohamed Siad Barre. He's the only officer who has ever reached the rank of Lieutenant General in the history of the Somali Armed Forces. He was known for his intelligent military tactics in the 1964 Ethiopian–Somali Border War, Ogaden War and 1982 Ethiopian–Somali Border War. He's regarded as one of the greatest military officers of the African continent.

Early years

Samatar was born in 1931 in Kismayo, Somalia.[1]

For his post-secondary education, Samatar studied at the Frunze Military Academy in the former Soviet Union (Военная академия им. М. В. Фрунзе), an elite institution reserved for the most qualified officers of the Warsaw Pact armies and their allies.[2]

Somali Democratic Republic

A lieutenant general in the Somali National Army (SNA), Samatar was a key figure in Somali politics throughout the 1970s and 1980s. During the Ogaden campaign of the late 1970s, he led all SNA units and their Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) affiliates.[2] He also served as national Defense Minister from 1980 to 1986.

Samatar was a member of President Siad Barre's ruling Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC). In May 1986, Barre suffered serious injuries in a life-threatening automobile accident near Mogadishu, when the car that was transporting him smashed into the back of a bus during a heavy rainstorm.[3] He was treated in a hospital in Saudi Arabia for head injuries, broken ribs and shock over a period of a month.[4][5] Samatar, who was then serving as Vice President of Somalia, subsequently served as de facto head of state for the next several months. Although Barre managed to recover enough to present himself as the sole presidential candidate for re-election over a term of seven years on December 23, 1986, his poor health and advanced age led to speculation about who would succeed him in power. Possible contenders included his son-in-law General Ahmed Suleiman Abdille, who was at the time the Minister of the Interior, in addition to Barre's vice president, Lt. Gen. Samatar.[3][4]

From February 1, 1987, to September 3, 1990, Samatar was the national Prime Minister, the first person to fill that post since 1969 (Since the 1969 revolution that overthrew the civilian government).

Following the outbreak of the civil war in 1991 and the collapse of the Barre regime, Samatar moved to the United States in order to escape persecution as a member of the former government. According to Mario Sica, then Italian ambassador to Mogadishu, although the United Somali Congress (USC) professed that it was fighting against the Barre regime as a whole and not engaged in a clan-based struggle, public officials who belonged to the same clan as the USC's core constituents were not targeted. Instead, they were embraced as heroes and welcomed into the rebel group's senior leadership positions.[6]

Samatar was alleged to have overseen the Isaaq genocide in what is now known as Somaliland.[7][8] Approximately 50,000-100,000 civilians were killed in the genocide whilst local reports estimate the total civilian deaths to be upwards of 200,000 Isaaq civilians.[9][10][11][12] Samatar is alleged to have commanded the forces that attacked the civilian population and committed severe crimes against humanity like mass killings, kidnapping, systematic rapes, arbitrary detentions, torture, as well as other war crimes. In 2012, seven Isaaq victims won a $21 million lawsuit in the United States against Samatar for crimes against the Isaaq people.[13][14]

Ogaden War

A distinguished graduate of Frunze, Samantar oversaw Somalia's military strategy. In the late 1970s, Samatar was the Chief Commanding Officer of the Somali National Army during the Ogaden Campaign.[2] He and his frontline deputies faced off against their mentor and former Frunze alumni Marshal Vasily Ivanovich Petrov, who was assigned by the USSR to advise the Ethiopian Army, in addition to and likely not limited to 15,000 Cuban troops along with thousands of other socialist foreign ground forces supporting Ethiopia,[15] led by General Arnaldo Ochoa.[16] The Ogaden Campaign was part of a broader effort to unite all of the Somali-inhabited territories in the Horn region into a Greater Somalia (Soomaaliweyn).[17]

General Samatar was assisted in the offensive by several field commanders, most of whom were also Frunze graduates:[18]

  • General Yussuf Salhan commanded SNA in Jigjiga Front assisted by Col. A. Naji, capturing the area on August 30, 1977. (Later became Minister of Tourism. Salhan was eventually expelled from the Somali Socialist Party in 1985)
  • Col. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed commanded SNA in Negellie Front. (Later the leader of SSDF rebel group based in Ethiopia. Col Ahmed was arrested by Ethiopia's Mengistu. He was released after the collapse of the Mengistu regime in 1991)
  • Col. Abdullahi Ahmed Irro commanded SNA in the Godey Front. (Retired and became a professor of Strategy in Mogadishu Somalia)
  • Col. Ali Hussein commanded SNA in two front's, Qabri Dahare and Harrar. (Eventually joined the SNM late 1988)
  • Col. Farah Handulle commanded SNA in the Wardheer Front. (Became a civilian administrator and Governor of Sanaag, later killed in Hargheisa as the new appointed Governor of Hargheisa in 1987 one day before he took over the Governorship)
  • General Mohamed Nur Galaal assisted by Col.Mohamud Sh. Abdullahi Geelqaad commanded Dirir-Dewa. The SNA retreated from Dirir-Dewa. ( Galaal became Minister of Public Works and Leading member of the ruling Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party)
  • Col. Abdulrahman Aare and Col. Ali Ismail co-commanded the Degeh-Bur Front. (Both Officers were lLater chosen to reinforce the Harar campaign; Col Aare eventually became a military attache and retired as a private citizen after the collapse of SNA in 1990)
  • Col. Abukar Liban 'Aftooje' Initially served as acting logistics coordinator for the Southern Command and later commanded the SNA in the Iimeey Front. ( Aftoje became a General and a military attache to France).

Lawsuit for crimes against humanity

In 2009, a civil lawsuit seeking financial damages from Samatar was filed in the United States by a small group of Somalis, some of whom were naturalized American citizens. Samatar had fled to the U.S. following the outbreak of the civil war and the collapse of the Barre regime in 1991 in order to escape persecution as a member of the former government. The individuals alleged that they had suffered physical abuse in violation of international law at the hands of soldiers or other government officials under Samatar's command,[19] which they further claimed was due to their belonging to the Isaaq clan.[20] However, the plaintiffs did not claim that Samatar personally committed the atrocities or that he was directly involved.[19] Supporters of Samatar described the lawsuit as a politically motivated vendetta filed by associates of the Somali National Movement (SNM), a disbanded rebel militia linked with the secessionist Somaliland region in the northwestern part of Somalia.[21]

Samatar asserted that he was immune from responsibility under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. On June 1, 2010, in Samantar v. Yousuf, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that, although Samatar's argument was "literally possible," FSIA did not cover the issue of an official's claim to immunity. The lawsuit was consequently allowed to continue against Samatar. However, the justices added that Samatar might have recourse to common law claims of immunity when the matter was heard again by the lower courts.[22] On remand, Samatar sought dismissal of the action based on head of state immunity and foreign official act immunity. In 2011, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia rejected these claims, denying the motion to dismiss.[23] It ruled that "under international and domestic law, officials from other countries are not entitled to foreign official immunity for jus cogens violations, even if the acts were performed in the defendant's official capacity."[24] In August 2012, a U.S. federal court ruled that Samatar should pay $21 million to the plaintiffs, with each to receive $1 million and $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages, respectively. However, Samatar was not required to pay the damages until bankruptcy proceedings concluded.[25] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit later upheld this decision in November 2012.[23] This was despite the fact that US President Barack Obama's administration had urged the court not to hear the lawsuit.[26]

In March 2013, Abdi Farah Shirdon, Prime Minister in Somalia's newly recognized Federal Government, issued a letter to the U.S. Department of State requesting that Washington grant Samatar immunity from prosecution. Samatar was previously denied immunity mainly because there was at the time no strong central authority within Somalia to claim it on his behalf. According to Samatar's attorney, Joseph Peter Drenan, the gesture was an attempt on the Somali government's part to promote reconciliation. He added that the lawsuit was now likely to be dismissed, as the U.S. authorities were expected to honor the Somali administration's request.[27] In March 2015, the US Supreme Court upheld the civil lawsuit against Samatar, dismissing his appeal.[26]

In 2012, a U.S. judge ultimately awarded $21 million to seven people who sued Samantar, claiming he had tortured and killed his own people. The judgment against Mohamed Ali Samantar came at the end of an eight-year legal battle that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.[14]

Death

Samatar died in Virginia, United States, on 19 August 2016.[28] He was buried in Mogadishu, Somalia.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Lewis, I.M. (2008). Understanding Somalia and Somaliland: Culture, History, Society. Columbia University Press. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-0231700849.
  2. 1 2 3 Ahmed III, Abdul. "Brothers in Arms Part I" (PDF). WardheerNews. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  3. 1 2 World of Information (Firm), Africa review, (World of Information: 1987), p.213.
  4. 1 2 Arthur S. Banks, Thomas C. Muller, William Overstreet, Political Handbook of the World 2008, (CQ Press: 2008), p.1198.
  5. ↑ National Academy of Sciences (U.S.). Committee on Human Rights, Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Health and Human Rights, Scientists and human rights in Somalia: report of a delegation, (National Academies: 1988), p.9.
  6. ↑ Kapteijns, Lidwien (2012). Clan Cleansing in Somalia: The Ruinous Legacy of 1991. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 133. ISBN 978-0812244670.
  7. ↑ Ingiriis, Mohamed Haji (2016-07-02). ""We Swallowed the State as the State Swallowed Us": The Genesis, Genealogies, and Geographies of Genocides in Somalia". African Security. 9 (3): 237–258. doi:10.1080/19392206.2016.1208475. ISSN 1939-2206. S2CID 148145948.
  8. ↑ Mullin, Chris (2009). A view from the foothills : the diaries of Chris Mullin. Internet Archive. London : Profile. ISBN 9781846682230.
  9. ↑ Peifer, Douglas C. (May 2009). Stopping Mass Killings in Africa: Genocide, Airpower, and Intervention. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4379-1281-4.
  10. ↑ Jones, Adam (July 2004). Genocide, war crimes and the West: history and complicity. Zed Books. ISBN 978-1-84277-191-4.
  11. ↑ Straus, Scott (2015-03-15). Making and Unmaking Nations: War, Leadership, and Genocide in Modern Africa. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-5567-4.
  12. ↑ Reinl, James. "Investigating genocide in Somaliland". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  13. ↑ Reinl, James (6 Feb 2014). "Investigating genocide in Somaliland". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  14. 1 2 "U.S. judge awards $21M to Somalis who sued ex-PM for torturing and killing his own people". www.cbsnews.com. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  15. ↑ Lockyer, Adam. "Opposing Foreign Intervention's Impact on the Course of Civil Wars: The Ethiopian-Ogaden Civil War, 1976-1980" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  16. ↑ Payne, Richard J. (1988). Opportunities and Dangers of Soviet-Cuban Expansion: Toward a Pragmatic U.S. Policy. SUNY Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0887067969.
  17. ↑ Lewis, I.M.; The Royal African Society (October 1989). "The Ogaden and the Fragility of Somali Segmentary Nationalism". African Affairs. 88 (353): 573–579. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a098217. JSTOR 723037.
  18. ↑ Ahmed III, Abdul. "Brothers in Arms Part II" (PDF). WardheerNews. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  19. 1 2 US court to hear Somali ex-minister torture case Archived 2009-10-23 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ↑ Barakat, Matthew (28 August 2012). "$21 Million Judgment Handed Down In Case Of Ex-Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Samantar". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  21. ↑ Geeleh, Ali (9 March 2010). "No to the vendetta against General Mohamed Ali Samater". Wardheernews. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  22. ↑ Barnes, Robert (2010-06-02). "Ex-Somali official Mohamed Ali Samantar may be sued in U.S., Supreme Court rules". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  23. 1 2 "Yousuf v Samantar Opinion (4th Circuit)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-23. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  24. ↑ Case summary - Center for Justice & Accountability
  25. ↑ Singer, Drew (28 August 2012). "Ex-Somali PM must pay $21 million for alleged torture - US court". Reuters. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  26. 1 2 "U.S. top court refuses to shield former Somali official from suit". Reuters. 9 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  27. ↑ "Somalia, newly recognized by US, seeks immunity for former minister Samantar in civil case". Associated Press. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  28. ↑ "Former somali vice president, defense minister in 1970's dies at 85-in-virginia". mareeg.com. 2016-08-20. Retrieved 20 August 2016.

Mohamed Nur Galaal

References

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