Somali Salvation Democratic Front Somali Salvation Democratic Front ( SSDF ) ( ) , initially known as the Democratic Front for Salvation of Somalia was a political and paramilitary umbrella organization in Somalia . Founded in 1978 by several army officers , it was the first of several opposition groups dedicated to ousting the authoritarian regime of Mohamed Siad Barre . With its power base mainly in the Majeerteen clan , SSDF representatives , along with local elders , intellectuals and businesspeople , were instrumental in the establishment in 1998 of the autonomous Puntland region in northeastern Somalia . Early history . On October 15 , 1969 , while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod , Somalia ' s then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards . His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d ' état on October 21 , 1969 ( the day after his funeral ) , in which the Somali Army seized power without encountering armed opposition — essentially a bloodless takeover . The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre , who at the time commanded the army . For refusing to support Barre ' s seizure of power , numerous political figures were imprisoned . Among these was Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed , Somalia ' s former military attaché to Moscow , who was imprisoned for several years by the new military regime . In 1978 , together with a group of officials mainly from his own Majeerteen ( Darod ) clan , Ahmed participated in a failed attempt to overthrow Barre ' s dictatorial administration . Most of the people who had helped plot the coup were summarily executed , but Ahmed and several colonels managed to escape abroad . Later that year , in neighboring Ethiopia , Ahmed formed a guerrilla movement called the " Somali Salvation Front " , which was subsequently renamed the " Somali Salvation Democratic Front " ( SSDF ) in 1979 . The SSDF was the first of several opposition groups dedicated to ousting Barre ' s regime by force . The SSDF formally incorporated in Aden , South Yemen in October 1981 through the merger of three groups , Somali Salvation Front , Somali Workers Party and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Somalia ( a front of the Communist Party of Somalia ) . An 11 - member Central Committee was constituted , of which the SSF leaders held 7 seats . Some former CC members of the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party were part of the leadership of the new group . A military structure was built up , supported by Ethiopia and Libya . In the summer of 1982 SSDF forces took part in an 1982 Ethiopian - Somalian Border War against Siad Barre . The campaign was called off when the United States initiated emergency military aid to Somalia . However some territory , including two district towns , had come under Ethiopian and SSDF control . The Mengistu regime declared that the territory was part of Ethiopia , something which created problems in the relations between the Ethiopian government and SSDF . In any case , the action was swiftly repulsed , and according to the U . S . Department of State , resulted in severe reprisals against the Majerteen clan ; the SSDF itself would be implicated in killings of members of Siad ' s own Marehan clan , in Cel - Habred in the Galgadud region in the early 1980s . A conflict soon emerged between the former SSF and the more leftist members . The SSF clique wanted to maintain the domination of SSDF of Majerteen and Darood clans . They made a deal with the Ethiopia n government to purge the leftists . In 1984 the Mengistu government jailed many leading SSDF members , such as then colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed . In 1984 , Mohamed Abshir Waldo was installed as provisional SSDF Chairman . From 1983 onwards many leaders , belonging to the Darood clan , were bought over by Barre . Many SSDF fighters defected to the regime . By 1985 SSDF had ceased most of their military operations against the Siad Barre regime . In 1986 an SSDF congress was held , which elected Dr . Hassan Ali Mireh as chairman . He resigned in 1988 , leaving a power vacuum in the organization . Musse Islan , a Somali , was elected leader by the SSDF Central Committee to hold the position until a Congress was convened . In 1988 the governments of Somalia and Ethiopia made some agreements to cease hostilities . The Ethiopian government started closing SSDF camps , arresting its leaders and seizing weapons . The Ethiopian government also closed the SSDF radio station , Radio Halgan , which had been broadcasting since 1981 . In 1988 SSDF guerrillas started taking control over the western districts of Mudug and the southern areas of Nugaal and Bari regions . Post - 1991 . After the fall of the Barre regime , the SSDF ( based largely in northeastern Somalia ) was divided in two factions . One was led by General Mohamed Abshir Musa ( chairman ) , who at the time was based in Saudi Arabia , and the other was led by Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed ( deputy chairman ) . The general secretary was Mohamed Abshir Waldo . A congress was held in August 1994 . Former Prime Minister of Somalia , Abdirizak Haji Hussein , was offered the chairmansip of the SSDF by a group of clan leaders , but declined . Over the next several years , Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed would emerge as the pre - eminent leader in northeastern Somalia . In 1992 , he marshalled forces to successfully expel an Islamist extremist group linked to Al - Itihaad al - Islamiya that had taken over Bosaso , a prominent port city and the commercial capital of the northeastern part of the country . Puntland . In 1998 , a homegrown constitutional conference was held in Garowe over a period of three months . Attended by SSDF representatives , traditional elders ( " Issims " ) , members of the business community , intellectuals and other civil society members , the autonomous Puntland State of Somalia was subsequently officially established so as to deliver services , offer security , facilitate trade , and interact with both domestic and international partners . Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was appointed as the nascent polity ' s first President . After serving two terms as President of Puntland , Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was elected in 2004 as President of the Transitional Federal Government ( TFG ) , an interim federal administrative body that he had helped establish earlier in the year .