SubSaharan Africa 473
were Somali raids in the Ogaden area. Then, on February 7, 1979, a Somali cabinet
minister traveled to the United States to request assistance against what he said had
been 151 air raids by planes based out of Ethiopia in the last nine months.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from April 14, 1978.
MID#2071
Dispute Number: 2071
Date(s): February 24, 1980 to June 13, 1981
Participants: 530 Ethiopia/520 Somalia
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: >999 deaths
Narrative: Following the Ogaden War, the United States began requesting land for
bases in Somalia in exchange for military assistance. On February 24, 1980, Ethiopia
threatened renewed conflict with Somalia should the United States give aid. Ten-
sions rose, and cross-border incidents became more frequent, though it was Somalian
forces that moved first with a village attack in April. Ethiopia then massed troops in
the Ogaden following an increase in Somali guerrilla activity. News reports suggested
Ethiopia was planning for an invasion. Open fighting broke out in late May, and Ethio-
pia bombed Somali positions in June. Ethiopians claimed to have killed over 1,000
Somali soldiers in August, but Western sources contradicted these numbers, saying
the invasion and ambush of Somali forces was “not a very big” operation.
The United States and Somalia went ahead with an arms accord on August 21, with
Somalia granting airfields and port facilities at Mogadishu. Ethiopia responded with
renewed cross-border attacks. In October Somali forces were able to push almost 200
miles into Ethiopian territory before being pushed back. That brief victory was short-
lived and never renewed as Ethiopia continued to punish border forces with skirmishes
and air raids. By mid-June 1981, Somalia began to press for talks to settle the conflict.
Coding changes: Fatalities changed from 101–250 deaths.
MID#2072
Dispute Number: 2072
Date(s): July 1982 to May 25, 1983
Participants: 530 Ethiopia/520 Somalia
Outcome (and Settlement): Victory for side A (None)
Fatalities: 501–999 deaths
Narrative: This dispute refers to several Ethiopian air raids on Somalian towns, begin-
ning in June 1982 and extending through May 1984. Somali guerrillas continued to
operate in the disputed Ogaden region even though Ethiopia had driven out official
Somali forces in the 1977–1978 war. Those guerrillas used the border to their advantage
and would often cross back into Somalia to evade capture. Somalia was bankrupted by
the war and offered little support to the liberation movements, but American aid had
started to flow to the Somalis as the United States sought strategic bases in the area.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from June 30, 1982. End Date changed from
August 13, 1983.