Unknown 1,000 killed | ||
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5,000 (1992)20,000 (1994) 3,000 (1991)4,500 (1994) Period November 1991 – December 1994 Similar Insurgency in Ogaden, Second Afar insurgency, Eritrean Civil Wars, Second Ivorian Civil War, Ethiopian Civil War | ||
The Djiboutian Civil War (also known as the Afar insurgency) was a conflict in Djibouti, lasting from 1991 to 1994 and resulting in an estimated thousands of fatalities.
Contents
Background
It was based on tensions between the two ethnic groups of the country, the Issa-Somali and the Afar. The RPP party, dominated by the Issa, ruled Djibouti since independence in 1977 as a one-party state in which many Afar felt marginalized. Since 1981, It was officially the only authorized party.
At the same time there were significant political developments in the region when, in 1991, the authoritarian governments of Siad Barre and Mengistu Haile Mariam were overthrown in the neighboring countries of Somalia and Ethiopia, and the independence of Eritrea from the People's Republic of Ethiopia was evident.
Outbreak
At the beginning of November 1991, the rebel organization Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD), calling for greater political participation of Afar, launched a guerrilla struggle against the government. The rebel (FRUD) seized all military posts in the north of the country and laid siege to the city of Tadjoura and Obock. Throughout the war, the fighting was mainly in the north of the country with the exception of the incident in the capital, when the December 18 1991 the year the government troops entered the area Arhiba inhabited by the Afar, and opened fire on crowds of people. At the same time killed at least 59 people. In February 1992, some French troops were deployed in the north to aid the government forces. With about 3000 (FRUD) Afar attacked government institutions in Dikhil. France has tried to mediate between the government and the rebels, but all attempts to organize such talks (November 1992, May 1993 the year ) failed. The government responded by increasing its armed forces from about 5,000 to 20,000 men, they were supported with some military equipments by France. On the 5 July 1993, government troops went on the offensive, capturing most of the rebel-held areas. Some thousands of Djiboutians fled the fighting in the neighboring Afar Region of Ethiopia. The Civil War contributed to the reintroduction of a multi-party democracy in 1992 with a new constitution. In 1992 and 1993 parliamentary and presidential elections took place. Subsequently, the FRUD split on the question of how far it was to cooperate with the government.
Peace agreement
In December 1994, the Abb'a peace agreement between the government and the moderate majority of FRUDs largely ended the civil war. Two FRUD representatives received ministerial posts, and at the next 1999 elections the FRUD supported the RPP. A faction of the rebels, the armed FRUD) under the leadership of Ahmed Dini, remained militarily active on a smaller scale until, in 2000 and 2001, it also concluded a peace agreement with the government.