Juba Valley Alliance
Encyclopedia
The Juba Valley Alliance (JVA) (Somali: Isbahaysiga Dooxada Jubba) is a political faction
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...

 of the Somali Civil War
Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. The conflict, which began in 1991, has caused destabilisation throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to rebel forces...

. It was the primary opponent of the Somali Patriotic Movement
Somali Patriotic Movement
The Somali Patriotic Movement is a political party and paramilitary organization in Somalia, and a key faction in the Somali Civil War. Commanded by Aden Abdullahi Nur Gabyow, it was based in the southwestern area of the country, and had considerable influence in the leaderless country...

 (SPM) and the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) vying for the control of Kismayo and the Juba River valley, the area known as Jubaland
Jubaland
Jubaland , also known as Azania or the Juba Valley and formerly as Trans-Juba , is an autonomous region in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies 40–60 km east of the Jubba River, stretching from Gedo to the Indian Ocean, while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in...

.

Following the breakdown of central authority in the Somali Civil War
Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. The conflict, which began in 1991, has caused destabilisation throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to rebel forces...

, General Hersi "Morgan" declared Jubaland
Jubaland
Jubaland , also known as Azania or the Juba Valley and formerly as Trans-Juba , is an autonomous region in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies 40–60 km east of the Jubba River, stretching from Gedo to the Indian Ocean, while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in...

 independent on September 3, 1998.

Opponents to General "Morgan" came from the Somali Marehan
Marehan
The Marehan are a Somali clan. They are one of the major Darod sub-clans, forming a part of the Sade confederation of clans. The majority of the Marehan live in the Jubbada Hoose, Gedo and Jubbada Dhexe regions in southwestern Somalia, as well as the Galguduud and Mudug regions in central...

, Ogadeni and Habr Gedir ethnic groups. The Marehan Somali National Front
Somali National Front
The Somali National Front was a political revolutionary movement and armed militia in Somalia.-History:Initially made up of loyalists to former President of Somalia Siad Barre and the remnants of the Somali National Army forces after his ouster from office, the SNF's intent and goal was to...

 (SNF) and other tribal allies grouped together as the Allied Somali Forces
Allied Somali Forces
The Allied Somali Forces was a political faction of the Somali Civil War. It was the primary opponent of the Somali Patriotic Movement vying for the control of Kismayo and the Juba River valley, the area known as Jubaland....

 (ASF). They ousted General "Morgan" from Kismayu in June 1999.

The ASF administration renamed itself the Juba Valley Alliance in June 2001, and threw its support behind the Transitional Federal Government
Transitional Federal Government
The Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...

 (TFG). The leader of the JVA is Colonel Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale
Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale
Barre Adan Shire , also known as Barre Hiiraale, Barre "Hirale" Aden Shire, or Abdikadir Adan Shire, is a former Minister of Defense of the Somali Transitional Federal Government . He was previously the TFG Minister for National Reconstruction and Resettlement...

, who later became Defense Minister for the TFG. The militia commander of the JVA is Col. Abdulahi Sheik Ismael Fara-Tag
Abdulahi Sheik Ismael Fara-Tag
Colonel Abdulahi Sheik Ismael is a commander in the army of the Transitional Federal Government of the Republic of Somalia.He was militia chief commander of the Juba Valley Alliance before it folded under the command of the TFG, serving under Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale before and after the...

.

On June 18, 2001, an 11-member interclan council decided to ally the JVA with the newly establishing Transitional Federal Government
Transitional Federal Government
The Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...

.

On August 6, 2001, after 10 days of heavy fighting in a battle involving 40 technicals
Technical (fighting vehicle)
A technical is a type of improvised fighting vehicle, typically a civilian or military non-combat vehicle, modified to provide an offensive capability similar to a military gun truck...

 and 1,000 militiamen, the JVA took the town of Jilib
Jilib
Jilib is a town in Somalia, with an estimated population of approximately 45,000. It is located on the main road from Mogadishu south to Kismayo and is the most populous town in the Middle Juba Region.The Islamic Courts Union was defeated there in the Battle of Jilib December 2006 January 2007...

 from the SRRC.

In 2002, the JVA battled with the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), which opposed the TFG, resulting in 6,000 refugees fleeing Bulo Hawa. In 2003, there were 15,000 internally displaced person
Internally displaced person
An internally displaced person is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee. At the end of 2006 it was estimated there were...

s (IDPs) accommodated in Kismayo. Fighting throughout southern and central Somalia resulted in 86,000 IDPs by 2004. Landmines were cited as a problem affecting the area due to the fighting between the JVA and SRRC.

War in Somalia

The JVA suffered the loss of Kismayo in September 2006 to an array of ICU forces with 130 technicals
Technical (fighting vehicle)
A technical is a type of improvised fighting vehicle, typically a civilian or military non-combat vehicle, modified to provide an offensive capability similar to a military gun truck...

, and further defeat during Islamic Court Union's takeover of the Juba Valley in October 2006,

On September 23, ICU forces under Sheik Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki
Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki
Sheikh Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki , also known as Hassan Al-Turki, or "Al-Turki"–"The Turk", is a Somali Islamist and military leader in the Islamic Courts Union and previously Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya.-Biography:...

 approached Jilib
Jilib
Jilib is a town in Somalia, with an estimated population of approximately 45,000. It is located on the main road from Mogadishu south to Kismayo and is the most populous town in the Middle Juba Region.The Islamic Courts Union was defeated there in the Battle of Jilib December 2006 January 2007...

, en route to Kismayo. Juba Valley Alliance forces withdrew without a fight. After the city fell, on September 24, he promised peace to the city after Islamic militiamen broke up an anti-Islamist demonstration with gunfire, killing three teenagers. On October 3, they took Afmadow. Sakow fell to the ICU on October 25–28 after they militarily defeated the Juba Valley Alliance. By December 13, Salagle also fell to them. The city of Baardhere in Gedo region, was the last sought after prize by the ICU but the population there refused them to achieve that goal. Barderians being part of the larger Juba region, the population in Gedo and Bardera in particular, disliked the ICU and its attack on Kismayo. ICU's total control of southern Somalia became impossible at this point. All sides, JVA, ICU and the powerless TGF regrouped and established new alliances and new fronts.

After the Battle of Baidoa
Battle of Baidoa
The Battle of Baidoa began on December 20, 2006 when the Somali Transitional Federal Government's forces allied with Ethiopian forces stationed there attacked advancing Islamic Courts Union forces along with 500 alleged Eritrean troops and mujahideen arrayed against them.The battle began with...

 (December 20–26), the JVA began to reassert control over the Juba Valley. On December 27, the ICU abandoned its positions in the Juba Valley at Salagle and Sakow
Saków
Saków is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wartkowice, within Poddębice County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Wartkowice, north of Poddębice, and north-west of the regional capital Łódź....

, north of Bu'aale
Bu'aale
Bu'ale is a town in the Jubbada Dhexe region of Somalia. It is the capital of the Bu'aale District, situated in the southern Jubba River valley.-References:*...

.

ICU forces in Kismayo
Kismayu
Kismayo or Kismayu is a port city in the Jubbada Hoose province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region....

 were reported retreating towards Mogadishu, and TFG forces were advancing towards Bu'uale from Dinsoor, while the rest of the Lower and Middle Juba areas were calm. However, no sooner had ICU forces from Kismayo gotten to Mogadishu than they reversed direction, withdrawing back to Kismayo. After their defeat at the Battle of Jilib
Battle of Jilib
The Battle of Jilib was a battle in the 2006 Somali War fought by the Islamic Courts Union and affiliated militias against Ethiopian and Transitional Federal Government forces for control of the town of Jilib...

 north of the city, the ICU forces withdrew, and on January 1, 2007, Kismayo fell to the TFG and Ethiopian forces
Fall of Kismayo
The Fall of Kismayo occurred on January 1, 2007, when the troops of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian forces entered the Somali city of Kismayo unopposed...

without armed conflict.

The JVA led by Colonel Hiiraale and other JVA senior officials have had a string of negotiations with the ICU's top ranks and they were given firm promise not to worry about a surprise attack from the ICU and its Shabab wing. Mr. Shire got the news that ICU forces massed around the port city of Kismayo and were prepared to enter the city. An infamous phrase was used to describe the tactics of the ICU whenever they went into a new territory, and that phrase was, "We were invited!" The JVA leadership emptied Kismayo in the middle of the night.

Somali political observers were surprised to find out that the ICU attacked Kismayo when in fact, the JVA was a genuinely a true alliance in terms of leadership and the relative peace the JVA brought to Lower Jubba region of Somalia. Some accuse Colonel Hiiraale as the leader of JVA, once refused to hand over individuals which the U.S government had suspicions to have links with Al Qaeda. There is no proof that he ever had hold of those who had proven links with Al Qaeda. At one point, Colonel Hiiraale mediated between the TFG and ICU. This shows the good relations he enjoyed with newly formed ICU and fledgling TFG. Many observers saw some hypocrisy in the ICU leadership when they jumped over Lower Shabele region and dashed to Kisamyo 500KM away to the south of Mogadishu.

Considering the integral part the JVA plays in the TFG's military, and that Col. Hiiraale is the TFG Defense Minister, it could be said that the JVA has been succeeded by, or incorporated into, the army of the nascent TFG. When TFG army entered into Kisamyo, they showed some restraint by not getting revenged at the ICU remnants for their past deeds of torture, false imprisonments and so on.

The ICU choked the economy of Somalia by putting all resources on the hands of a selected few. Although the mistakes of the ICU were many, the economy factor, the attack of Kismayo and the murdering http://www.hiiraan.com/op2_rss/2007/Jan/somalia_is_at_critical_crossroads.aspx of the bed-ridden JVA fighters who were at the Bu'ale Hospital hastened the fall of the ICU phenomenon in Somali politics of the recent years.
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