Ethio - Somali War The Ethio - Somali War ( also Ethiopian - Somali War or Ogaden War ) was a conventional conflict fought by Ethiopia and Somalia between July 1977 and March 1978 over the disputed Ogaden region in present - day eastern Ethiopia . In a notable illustration of the nature of Cold War alliances , the Soviet Union switched from supplying aid to Somalia to supporting Ethiopia , which had previously been backed by the United States . This in turn prompted the U . S . to later start supporting Somalia . The war ended when Somali forces retreated back across the border and a truce was declared . Background . Territorial partition . Following World War II , Britain retained control of both British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland as protectorate s . In 1945 , during the Potsdam Conference , the United Nations granted Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland , but only under close supervision and on the condition — first proposed by the Somali Youth League ( SYL ) and other nascent Somali political organizations , such as Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali ( HDMS ) and the Somali National League ( SNL ) — that Somalia achieve independence within ten years . British Somaliland remained a protectorate of Britain until 1960 . In 1948 , under pressure from their World War II allies and to the dismay of the Somalis , the British " returned " the Haud ( an important Somali grazing area that was presumably ' protected ' by British treaties with the Somalis in 1884 and 1886 ) and the Ogaden to Ethiopia , based on a treaty they signed in 1897 in which the British ceded Somali territory to the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik in exchange for his help against raids by Somali clans . Britain included the proviso that the Somali residents would retain their autonomy , but Ethiopia immediately claimed sovereignty over the area . This prompted an unsuccessful bid by Britain in 1956 to buy back the Somali lands it had turned over . Britain also granted administration of the almost exclusively Somali - inhabited Northern Frontier District ( NFD ) to Kenyan nationalists despite an informal plebiscite demonstrating the overwhelming desire of the region ' s population to join the newly formed Somali Republic . A referendum was held in neighboring Djibouti ( then known as French Somaliland ) in 1958 , on the eve of Somalia ' s independence in 1960 , to decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France . The referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France , largely due to a combined yes vote by the sizable Afar ethnic group and resident Europeans . There was also widespread vote rigging , with the French expelling thousands of Somalis before the referendum reached the polls . The majority of those who voted no were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining a united Somalia , as had been proposed by Mahmoud Harbi , Vice President of the Government Council . Harbi was killed in a plane crash two years later . Djibouti finally gained its independence from France in 1977 , and Hassan Gouled Aptidon , a Somali who had campaigned for a yes vote in the referendum of 1958 , eventually wound up as Djibouti ' s first president ( 1977 – 1991 ) . British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as the State of Somaliland , and the Trust Territory of Somalia ( the former Italian Somaliland ) followed suit five days later . On July 1 , 1960 , the two territories united to form the Somali Republic . A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa and other members of the trusteeship and protectorate governments , with Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf as President of the Somali National Assembly , Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President of the Somali Republic and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister ( later to become President from 1967 – 1969 ) . On 20 July 1961 and through a popular referendum , the people of Somalia ratified a new constitution , which was first drafted in 1960 . On 15 October 1969 , while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod , Somalia ' s then President Shermarke was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards . His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d ' état on 21 October 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 . Supreme Revolutionary Council . Alongside Barre , the Supreme Revolutionary Council ( SRC ) that assumed power after President Sharmarke ' s assassination was led by Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Korshel . Kediye officially held the title of " Father of the Revolution , " and Barre shortly afterwards became the head of the SRC . The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic , dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court , and suspended the constitution . In addition to previous Soviet funding and arms support to Somalia , Egypt sent millions of dollars in arms to Somalia , established military training and sent experts to Somalia in support of Egypt ' s longstanding policy of securing the Nile River flow by destabilising Ethiopia . Derg . Even as Somalia gained military strength , Ethiopia grew weaker . In September 1974 , Emperor Haile Selassie had been overthrown by the Derg ( the military council ) , marking a period of turmoil . The Derg quickly fell into internal conflict to determine who would have primacy . Meanwhile , various anti - Derg as well as separatist movements began throughout the country . The regional balance of power now favoured Somalia . One of the separatist groups seeking to take advantage of the chaos was the pro - Somalia Western Somali Liberation Front ( WSLF ) operating in the Somali - inhabited Ogaden area , which by late 1975 had struck numerous government outposts . From 1976 to 1977 , Somalia supplied arms and other aid to the WSLF . A sign that order had been restored among the Derg was the announcement of Mengistu Haile Mariam as head of state on 11 February 1977 . However , the country remained in chaos as the military attempted to suppress its civilian opponents . Despite the violence , the Soviet Union , which had been closely observing developments , came to believe that Ethiopia was developing into a genuine Marxist – Leninist state and that it was in Soviet interests to aid the new regime . They thus secretly approached Mengistu with offers of aid that he accepted . Ethiopia closed the U . S . military mission and the communications centre in April 1977 . In June 1977 , Mengistu accused Somalia of infiltrating SNA soldiers into the Somali area to fight alongside the WSLF . Despite considerable evidence to the contrary , Barre strongly denied this , saying SNA " volunteers " were being allowed to help the WSLF . Course of the war . The Somali National Army committed to invade the Ogaden at 03 : 00 on July 13 , 1977 ( 5 Hamle , 1969 ) , according to Ethiopian documents ( some other sources state 23 July ) . According to Ethiopian sources , the invaders numbered 70 , 000 troops , 40 fighter planes , 250 tanks , 350 armoured personnel carrier s , and 600 artillery , which would have meant practically the whole Somalian Army . By the end of the month 60 % of the Ogaden had been taken by the SNA - WSLF force , including Gode , on the Shabelle River . The attacking forces did suffer some early setbacks ; Ethiopian defenders at Dire Dawa and Jijiga inflicted heavy casualties on assaulting forces . The Ethiopian Air Force ( EAF ) also began to establish air superiority using its Northrop F - 5 s , despite being initially outnumbered by Somali MiG - 21s . However , Somalia was easily overpowering Ethiopian military hardware and technology capability . Army - general Vasily Petrov of the Soviet Armed Forces had to report back to Moscow the " sorry state " of the Ethiopian Army . The 3rd and 4th Ethiopian Infantry Division s that suffered the brunt of the Somali invasion had practically ceased to exist . The USSR , finding itself supplying both sides of a war , attempted to mediate a ceasefire . When their efforts failed , the Soviets abandoned Somalia . All aid to Siad Barre ' s regime was halted , while arms shipments to Ethiopia were increased . Soviet military aid ( second in magnitude only to the October 1973 gigantic resupplying of Syrian forces during the Yom Kippur War ) and advisors flooded into the country along with around 15 , 000 Cuban combat troops . Other communist countries offered assistance : the People ' s Democratic Republic of Yemen offered military assistance and North Korea helped train a " People ' s Militia " ; East Germany likewise offered training , engineering and support troops . As the scale of communist assistance became clear in November 1977 , Somalia broke diplomatic relations with the USSR and expelled all Soviet citizens from the country . Not all communist states sided with Ethiopia . Because of the Sino - Soviet rivalry , China supported Somalia diplomatically and with token military aid . Romania under Nicolae Ceauşescu had a habit of breaking with Soviet policies and maintained good diplomatic relations with Siad Barre . By 17 August elements of the Somali army had reached the outskirts of the strategic city of Dire Dawa . Not only was the country ' s second largest military airbase located here , as well as Ethiopia ' s crossroads into the Ogaden , but Ethiopia ' s rail lifeline to the Red Sea ran through this city , and if the Somalis held Dire Dawa , Ethiopia would be unable to export its crops or bring in equipment needed to continue the fight . Gebre Tareke estimates the Somalis advanced with two motorized brigades , one tank battalion and one BM battery upon the city ; against them were the Ethiopian Second Militia Division , the 201 Nebelbal battalion , 781 battalion of the 78th Brigade , the 4th Mechanized Company , and a tank platoon possessing two tanks . The fighting was vicious as both sides knew what the stakes were , but after two days , despite that the Somalis had gained possession of the airport at one point , the Ethiopians had repulsed the assault , forcing the Somalis to withdraw . Henceforth , Dire Dawa was never at risk of attack . The greatest single victory of the SNA - WSLF was a second assault on Jijiga in mid - September ( the Battle of Jijiga ) , in which the demoralized Ethiopian troops withdrew from the town . The local defenders were no match for the assaulting Somalis and the Ethiopian military was forced to withdraw past the strategic strongpoint of the Marda Pass , halfway between Jijiga and Harar . By September Ethiopia was forced to admit that it controlled only about 10 % of the Ogaden and that the Ethiopian defenders had been pushed back into the non - Somali areas of Harerge , Bale , and Sidamo . However , the Somalis were unable to press their advantage because of the high attrition on its tank battalions , constant Ethiopian air attacks on their supply lines , and the onset of the rainy season which made the dirt roads unusable . During that time , the Ethiopian government managed to raise and train a giant militia force 100 , 000 strong and integrated it into the regular fighting force . Also , since the Ethiopian army was a client of U . S weapons , hasty acclimatization to the new Warsaw Pact bloc weaponry took place . From October 1977 until January 1978 , the SNA - WSLF forces attempted to capture Harar , where 40 , 000 Ethiopians had regrouped and re - armed with Soviet - supplied artillery and armor ; backed by 1500 Soviet " advisors " and 11 , 000 Cuban soldiers , they engaged the attackers in vicious fighting . Though the Somali forces reached the city outskirts by November , they were too exhausted to take the city and eventually had to withdraw to await the Ethiopian counterattack . The expected Ethiopian - Cuban attack occurred in early February ; however , it was accompanied by a second attack that the Somalis did not expect . A column of Ethiopian and Cuban troops crossed northeast into the highlands between Jijiga and the border with Somalia , bypassing the SNA - WSLF force defending the Marda Pass . Mil Mi - 6 helicopters airlifted Cuban BMD - 1 and ASU - 57 armored vehicles behind enemy lines . The attackers were thus able to assault from two directions in a " pincer " action , allowing the re - capture of Jijiga in only two days while killing 3 , 000 defenders . The Somali defense collapsed and every major Ethiopian town was recaptured in the following weeks . Recognizing that his position was untenable , Siad Barre ordered the SNA to retreat back into Somalia on 9 March 1978 , although Rene LaFort claims that the Somalis , having foreseen the inevitable , had already withdrawn their heavy weapons . The last significant Somali unit left Ethiopia on 15 March 1978 , marking the end of the war . Effects of the war . Following the withdrawal of the SNA , the WSLF continued their insurgency . By May 1980 , the rebels , with the assistance of a small number of SNA soldiers who continued to help the guerrilla war , controlled a substantial region of the Ogaden . However by 1981 the insurgents were reduced to sporadic hit - and - run attacks and were finally defeated . For the Barre regime , the invasion was perhaps the greatest strategic blunder since independence , and it weakened the military . Almost one - third of the regular SNA soldiers , three - eighths of the armored units and half of the Somali Air Force ( SAF ) were lost . The weakness of the Barre administration led it to effectively abandon the dream of a unified Greater Somalia . The failure of the war aggravated discontent with the Barre regime ; the first organized opposition group , the Somali Salvation Democratic Front ( SSDF ) , was formed by army officers in 1979 . The United States adopted Somalia as a Cold War ally from the late 1970s to 1988 in exchange for use of Somali bases , and a way to exert influence upon the region . A second armed clash in 1988 was resolved when the two countries agreed to withdraw their militaries from the border . Both sides committed serious war crimes against civilians .