Isaaq genocide

The Isaaq genocide also known as the Hargeisa Holocaust, was the systematic, state-sponsored genocide of Isaaq civilians between 1987 and 1989, during the Somaliland War of Independence. It was carried out under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, president of the Somali Democratic Republic. The number of civilian deaths is estimated to be between 50,000 and 200,000. The genocide, which escalated after the Somali National Movement (SNM)'s 1988 Northern Somalia offensive, was marked by intense fighting that included SNM attacks on Ogaden refugee camps. These refugees, who had arrived after the 1977 Ogaden War, were viewed by the SNM as a paramilitary force used by the state to colonize Isaaq land. The genocide included the levelling and complete destruction of the largest and second largest cities in Somaliland, Hargeisa (which was 90 percent destroyed) and Burao (70 percent destroyed), respectively. In addition, up to 500,000 Somalilanders, primarily of the Isaaq clan, fled across the border as refugees to Hart Sheik, Ethiopia, in what was described as "one of the fastest and largest forced movements of people recorded in Africa," which resulted in the creation of the world's then-largest refugee camp. An additional 400,000 Somalilanders were internally displaced. The scale of destruction led to Hargeisa becoming known as the 'Dresden of Africa'. The killings happened during the Somali Civil War and have been referred to as a "forgotten genocide". In the countryside, the persecution of Isaaq included the creation of a mechanised section of the Somali Armed Forces dubbed as Dabar Goynta Isaaqa (lit. 'The Isaaq Exterminators') consisting entirely of non-Isaaqs (mainly Ogaden); this unit conducted a "systematic pattern of attacks against unarmed, civilian villages, watering points and grazing areas of Somaliland, killing many of their residents and forcing survivors to flee for safety to remote areas". This resulted in entire villages...