| Conflict: | Ethiopian-Somali conflict |
| Place: | Horn of Africa |
| Status: | Ongoing |
| Date: | 1948 – present |
The Ethiopian–Somali conflict is a territorial and political dispute between Ethiopia, Somalia, and insurgents in the area.
Originating in the 1300s, the present conflict stems from the Ethiopian Empire's expansions into the Somali-inhabited Ogaden region during the late 19th century. It escalated further when the Ogaden and Haud territories were transferred to Ethiopia by Britain after World War II. In the decades following, Somali desires for self-determination and/or unification under a Greater Somalia have culminated in numerous insurgencies and several wars. However, because of the Somali Civil War and the lack of a functioning central government since the collapse of the Democratic Republic of Somalia in 1991, Ethiopia has the upper hand militarily and economically.
The earliest form of Ethiopian-Somali conflict dates back to the 14th century.
In the 14th and 15th the Ethiopian Empire sought to control the trades routes from ports such as Zeila and forcibly convert the Muslim population of the Horn of Africa. During the reign of Amda Seyon I, the Ethiopians invaded the Muslim Sultanates of Hadiya, Bale, Dawaro, Sharkha, Ifat and Arababni. However the Somali Sultanate of Ifat and its successor Adal managed to beat back Ethiopian expeditions and maintain complete independence from Ethiopian rule.[1]
The 14th century was marked by a string of significant Adalite victory as no less than 5 Ethiopian emperors died in failed assaults on Adal and two disastrous failed invasions of Adal during the reign of Baeda Maryam and his son Eskender lead to the end Ethiopian attempts to subjugate Adal.[2] Conversely, Adalite campaigns in Ethiopia penetrated deep into the Habesha interior up to the Blue Nile and outlying Ethiopian provinces were even forced to pay tribute to the Adalites.[3]
In 1529 in response to increasing Ethiopian raids on the Adalite frontier during a succession crisis, the leader of Adal, Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Ahmad Gurey or Gragn) began a campaign to conquer the entirety of Ethiopia in order to vanquish the Ethiopian threat permanently.[4] [5]