Background
Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade was born in Toosweyne village in the Berdale district of Bay region.
Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade was born in Toosweyne village in the Berdale district of Bay region.
He was Minister of Land and Air Transport and Minister of Agriculture in the Somali Transitional Federal Government. He served in the military of Siad Barre and was located in the Northern part of Somalia, mainly in Hargeisa and Buro. He was among the leaders who laid the foundations of Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA), established in Jafay in the outskirts of Berdale district late 1995.
He died on January 24, 2015.
Background of conflict
Prior to Aideed"s invasion of Baidoa on 17 September 1995, the Leysan sub-clan of the larger Rahanweyn clan were almost all the employees of the UNOSOM and the relief Service Organisation. This made the other Rahanwien subclans feel marginalised and prompted frequent clashes between the Leysan and the Harin, the Jiron, and eventually the Eelay in September 1995.
The Leysan captured the Elaay inhabited town of Buurhakaba. The Eelay elders resorted to Mohamed Farah Aideed and asked him to attack Baidoa.
As a result of this Baidoa fell in the hands of Aideed on a Sunday morning on 17 September 1995.
Most of the Rahanwein clans initially welcomed Aideed with the exception of the Leysan and Hadame. The Harin and Elaay sided with Aideed. The ousted leaders of the Leysan including Habsade resorted to armed resistance to free Baidoa from Aideed, and together with other Rahanwein politicians founded RRA in Jaffay and appointed Abdullahi Mohamoud Leysan (Abdullahi Tawo) as chairman.
Opposition
Habsade opposed the then leader of RRA, Abdulahi Tawo.
According to Habsade, his subclan, Leysan, which was accused of marginalising the other subclans of Rahanwein during the presence of UNOSOM, was the target of Aideed"s invasion of Baidoa. He opposed Abdullahi Tawo and worked hard to appoint Colonel
Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud of the Harin subclan to the leadership of RRA. In 2002, Habsade, along with Sheikh Aden Madobe, who is from the Hadame clan, opposed Shatigudud when he declared himself the president of the short-lived semi-autonomous government of Shouthwestern. Habsade and Sheikh Aden Madowe then clashed a few years later, ensuing several fights within Baidoa city.
Habsade opposed the relocation of the TFG to Baidoa and eventually allied himself with the Mogadishu warlords.