Regional Dynamics of Inter-ethnic Conflicts in the Horn of Africa: An
Analysis of the Afar-Somali Conflict in Ethiopia and Djibouti

DISSERTATION
ZUR ERLANGUNG DER GRADES DES DOKTORS DER PHILOSOPHIE
DER UNIVERSTÄT HAMBURG

VORGELEGT VON
YASIN MOHAMMED YASIN from Assab, Ethiopia

HAMBURG 2010

ii

Regional Dynamics of Inter-ethnic Conflicts in the Horn of Africa: An Analysis of the Afar-Somali Conflict in Ethiopia and Djibouti

by

Yasin Mohammed Yasin

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree

PHILOSOPHIAE DOCTOR
(POLITICAL SCIENCE)

in the
FACULITY OF
BUSINESS, ECONOMICS AND
SOCIAL SCIENCES at the

UNIVERSITY OF HAMBURG
Supervisors
Prof. Dr. Cord Jakobeit Prof. Dr. Rainer Tetzlaff

HAMBURG
15 December 2010 iii

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to thank my doctoral fathers Prof. Dr. Cord Jakobeit and Prof. Dr. Rainer Tetzlaff for their critical comments and kindly encouragement that made it possible for me to complete this PhD project. Particularly, Prof. Jakobeit’s invaluable assistance whenever I needed and his academic follow-up enabled me to carry out the work successfully. I therefore ask Prof. Dr. Cord Jakobeit to accept my sincere thanks.
I am also grateful to Prof. Dr. Klaus Mummenhoff and the association, Verein zur

Förderung äthiopischer Schüler und Studenten e. V., Osnabruck, for the enthusiastic

morale and financial support offered to me in my stay in Hamburg as well as during routine travels between Addis and Hamburg. I also owe much to Dr. Wolbert Smidt for his friendly and academic guidance throughout the research and writing of this dissertation.
Special thanks are reserved to the Department of Social Sciences at the University of
Hamburg and the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) that provided me comfortable environment during my research work in Hamburg. I shall also record my gratitude and deep appreciation to scholars and doctoral candidates at the GIGA for their critical and constructive comments during regular doctoral colloquium sessions.
Without the financial support of a generous grant from the French Centre for
Ethiopian Studies (CFEE) in Addis Abeba, it would have been impossible for me to undertake the most crucial field trips in various regions within Ethiopia. Hence special thanks go to successive directors of CFEE, Gerard Prunier, Francois-Xavier Fauvelle and the incumbent director Dr. Eloi Ficquet. I am also grateful to Afar National Democratic Party and Afar region capacity building bureau for the necessary funding I have received from both esteemed offices.
My greatest thanks are also due to Prof. Dr. Stefan Brüne, advisor of IGAD
Secretariat for offering me internship position in Djibouti, IGAD head office while researching Eritrio-Djibouti border dispute in August-October 2008. I have also greatly profited from the documentation centre of IGAD/CEWARN unit in Addis Abeba as well as useful discussions with Mr. Raymond M. Kitevu and Mrs. Mebrate Woldetensaie, Laison officer and research and training officer respectively. I am also indebted to Dr. Ulrich Müller-Schöll and his kind wife Simone Kopfmüller, GTZ advisor for Peace and Security Department of the African Union, for their prompt and wonderful support offered to me every time I needed.
I am also grateful to several people whose ideas on ethnicity, divided ethnic groups and ethnic conflicts are of tremendous value. Among those quite a number of discussions with the prominent scholar John Markakis both in Addis and during the conference held in Halle/Saale, Germany in 2006 was vital in writing the proposal of this work. During

the conference entitled ‘Divided They Stand: the Affordance of State Borders in the Horn

of Africa’, held in the Max-Plank Institute for Social Anthropology, I benefited more from deep theoretical and empirical analysis on the conceptions of identity and conflict from outstanding scholars including the director, Günther Schlee, Christopher Clapham, Dereje Feyissa and Markus Höhne. I remain grateful as well for the opportunity to participate at the 16th International conference of Ethiopian Studies held in Trondheim, Norway in 2007, which inspired me with various ideas to assess the work in vast perspective. iv
I want to extend heart-felt thank to all my interviewees who allowed me to share their sincere view on various subjects included in this study. I have also benefited greatly from Rediate Moges who read the whole draft and made a number of useful suggestions particularly in editing the language of this document.
Last but not least I am deeply grateful and owe a special debt of gratitude to my family and good friends in Ethiopia and abroad for their invaluable support in every aspect. Indeed without their morale and material support I would not have been able to carry out the work. Thank you all!!

Hamburg, May 05, 2010 v

Contents

Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iii Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................ix Acronyms and Glossary ...................................................................................................................x List of Tables and Boxes............................................................................................................... xii List of Figures and Maps.............................................................................................................. xiii Chapter One ...................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

• 1
• Introduction ...........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

• 1.1
• Sources and Research Methodology.............................Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.1.1 Aim and Scope of the Research................................Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.1.2 Purpose Statement ......................................................................................................3 1.1.3 Objective of the Research...........................................................................................7 1.1.4 Research Questions and Hypothesis...........................................................................8 1.1.5 Research Design and Methodology............................................................................9
1.1.5.1 1.1.5.2
Research Design ................................................................................................9 Data collection Instruments ...............................................................................9

1.2 1.3 1.4
Significance of the Research.........................................................................................10 Limitations and Problem Encountered..........................................................................11 Structure of the Study ...................................................................................................11
Chapter Two...................................................................................................................................14

• Theoretical Frameworks and Empirical Literature Review...................................................14
• 2

• 2.1
• Introduction...................................................................................................................14

Theoretical Definitions of Conflict...............................................................................14 Concepts and Definitions of Ethnic Group, Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict..................17 Key Theories and Concepts of Ethnic Conflict Resolution ..........................................25
2.2 2.3 2.4
Chapter Three.................................................................................................................................31

• Backgrounds of the Study Area, the People and the Conflict ...............................................31
• 3

3.1 3.2
Introduction...................................................................................................................31 The Research Area........................................................................................................38
3.2.1 Physical Setting ........................................................................................................39
3.2.1.1 3.2.1.2
The Afar and Somali Regions in Ethiopia.......................................................39 The Republic of Djibouti.................................................................................40
3.2.2 Geo-Political Significance........................................................................................42
3.2.2.1 3.2.2.2
The Afar and Somali Regions in Ethiopia.......................................................42 The Republic of Djibouti.................................................................................43

• 3.3
• Socio-economic and Political Settings of the People....................................................45

3.3.1 The Afar....................................................................................................................46

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3.3.1.1 3.3.1.2 3.3.1.3 3.3.1.4
Etymology of Afar...........................................................................................46 Mobility and Settlement Patterns of the Afar ..................................................47 Socio- economic settings of the Afar People...................................................49 Traditional Political Structure of the Afar .......................................................51
3.3.2 Issa/Somali ...............................................................................................................52
3.3.2.1 3.3.2.2 3.3.2.3 3.3.2.4
Etymology of Somali and Issa.........................................................................52 Mobility and Settlement Patterns of the Issa/Somali.......................................53 Socio-economic settings of Issa/Somali ..........................................................56 Traditional Political Structure of Issa/Somali..................................................63

3.4 3.5
Shared Norms and Values between the Afar and Issa/Somali Pastorarlists .................65 Review of the Genesis of the Conflict..........................................................................69
3.5.1 Population Mobility in Shaping the Conflict............................................................71 3.5.2 Culture’s Role in the Conflict...................................................................................73 3.5.3 Economic Causes of the Conflict .............................................................................76

• 3.6
• Concluding Summary ...................................................................................................80

Chapter Four...................................................................................................................................82

• 4
• Regional Political Dynamics and Phases of the Conflict ......................................................82

• 4.1
• Introduction...................................................................................................................82

• 4.2
• The Arrival of Italian and French Colonists in Ethiopia and Djibouti..........................83

4.2.1 Italian Occupation of Ethiopia and Its Impact on the Afar-Issa/Somali Conflict.....83
4.2.1.1 4.2.1.2 4.2.1.3 4.2.1.4
The Seed of Pan-Somalism..............................................................................83 Cracking Afars’ Spine .....................................................................................84 Beef-up Somalis’ Military Power....................................................................85 Enhancement of Somalis’ Economy................................................................88
4.2.2 The French Colonial Administration and Its Effect on Politicization of Ethnic
Identity......................................................................................................................91
4.2.2.1 4.2.2.2 4.2.2.3 4.2.2.4
The Franco-Somali Treaty...............................................................................91 Baptized the Territory and Relocate the Capital..............................................92 Shift of Alliance along Ethno-Regional Lines.................................................91 The Two Referendums: Fuelling Ethnic Discontent........................................97

• 4.3
• The Birth of New States..............................................................................................100

4.3.1 The Creation of the Somali Republic in 1960: A New Regional Arena for Afar-
Issa/Somali Conflict ...............................................................................................100
4.3.1.1 4.3.1.2
Eve of Independence: Heyday of Somali Nationalism..................................101 The Post-Independence Somalia and Irredentism..........................................102
4.3.2 Independence of the Republic of Djibouti and Inter-Ethnic Tension.....................110
4.3.2.1 4.3.2.2
The Issa/Somali’s Never-Ending Rule since Independence ..........................111 The 1991-1994 Civil War and Its Aftermath.................................................115
4.3.2.4 The Tiny Republic: Successor of Mogadishu in Building Issa/Somalis’ Muscle in
Ethiopia..............................................................................................................116
4.3.3 Emergence of the State of Eritrea in 1991: An Architect of Proxy Games............125
4.3.3.1 4.3.3.2
Eritrea’s role to intensify Afar-Issa/Somali Conflict in Ethiopia ..................125 Eritrea’s meddling in Djibouti’s Local Politics .............................................128

• 4.4
• Régime Change in Ethiopia and Somalia ...................................................................131

4.4.1 Downfall of Barre and Fading Away of the Vision of ‘Greater Somalia’..............131 4.4.2 Demise of the Derg and Peak of the Afar-Somali Conflict....................................133

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• 4.5
• Interstate Disputes.......................................................................................................135

4.5.1 The Shadow of the First and Second Ethio-Somalia Wars on the Afar Issa/Somali
Conflict...................................................................................................................135
4.5.2 Feature of the Afar-Issa/Somali Conflict at End of the Honeymoon between
Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea.....................................................................143
4.5.3 Eritro-Djibouti Border Dispute and Its influence on the Afar-Issa/Somali Conflict....
................................................................................................................................146

4.6 The Fight against ‘Terrorism’ in the Horn Region and Its Implication towards the Afar-
Issa/Somali Conflict........................................................................................................148

4.7
Chapter Five.................................................................................................................................155
Resolution Efforts and the Outcomes for the Afar-Issa/Somali Conflict............................155
Concluding Summary .................................................................................................152
5
5.1 5.2
Introduction.................................................................................................................155 Interventions by Successive Governments of Ethiopia...............................................156
5.2.1 Resolution Attempts during the Emperor’s Era .....................................................156
5.2.1.1 5.2.1.2 5.2.1.3
Administrative Units Restructuring...............................................................157 Peace Negotiations.........................................................................................164 The Carrot-plus-Stick Approach....................................................................155
5.2.2 The Derg and Its Conflict Settlement Perspective..................................................174
5.2.2.1 5.2.2.2
Against the ‘Counter-Revolutionaries’..........................................................175 The Buffer Zone: A Pause on the Border in Motion......................................176
5.2.3 The EPRDF’s Approach for the Resolution of Afar-Issa/Somali Conflict ............178
5.2.3.1 5.2.3.2 5.2.3.3
The Joint Peace Committees: ‘Play Football till Shabiya Goes’ ...................179 The Dichotomy between Historical and Constitutional Rights .....................187 ‘The Third Way’: ‘Live Together but Leave the Road’ Approach................193