Somalian President Siad Barre Warns the USSR Against Involvement in the Ogaden War | Nov. 1977

Thursday, November 3rd 1977. Footage of President Siad Barre of Somalia giving a press conference in Mogadishu during which he warned the Soviet Union against getting involved in the Ogaden Desert War; a conflict that was fought between Ethiopia and Somalia. At the conference, Barre made the first claim from a high level member of the Somalian government that Cuban troops were fighting among Ethiopian forces. He estimated that about 12,000 troops were involved. Source: Reuters News Archive. Note: 1. The Ogaden region, comprising a substantial portion of the eastern part of Ehiopia, is largely populated by ethnic Somali clans. 2. The war fought between July 1977 and March 1978, was the result of an offensive launched by the government of President Barre. 3. This conflict in the 'Horn of Africa' became a Cold War-era proxy war between the Soviet Union and the United States. The USSR, which up until the conflict had been closely tied to the Marxist-orientated regime led by Barre, switched its support to the Marxist regime of Ethiopia led by Lt. Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam. The Americans, who had continued to support the Ethiopia government after it had overthrown Emperor Haile Selassie, then supported the Somalians as part of a strategy of maintaining influence in the sub-region. 4. The war ended in a decisive victory for the Ethiopian military which by March 1978 had captured almost all of the Ogaden region. This forced Somalia to give up its claim. 5. The consequences of the war had a profound effect on Somalia. Up to a third of the initial invasion force was destroyed and the resultant demoralisation and despair among sections of the military and the wider society led to revolts by the likes of General Mohamed Farah Aideed and an enduring civil war.