[19] Britain included the proviso that the Somali residents would retain their autonomy, but Ethiopia immediately claimed sovereignty over the area. [38], Somali Victories and Siege of Harar (September–January), Ethiopian-Cuban Counter-Attack (February–March). For the Barre regime, the invasion was perhaps the greatest strategic blunder since independence,[38] and it weakened the military. 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. [21], 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. [22] There was also widespread vote rigging, with the French expelling thousands of Somalis before the referendum reached the polls. [37] The last significant Somali unit left Ethiopia on 15 March 1978, marking the end of the war. Despite this success, several factors prevented a Somali victory. In 1976 the SAF had fifty-two combat aircraft, twenty-four of which were Soviet-built supersonic MiG21s . [27], 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. [24] On July 1, 1960, the two territories united to form the Somali Republic. Ethiopia closed the U.S. military mission and the communications centre in April 1977. Meanwhile, various anti-Derg as well as separatist movements began throughout the country. In June 1977, Addis Ababa accused Mogadishu of committing SNA units to the fighting. Moreover, because the EAF had established air superiority over the SAF, it could harass overextended Somali supply lines with impunity. At Jijiga the Somalis lost more than half of their attacking force of three tank battalions, each of which included more than thirty tanks. "true" : "false") + "; expires=" + d.toUTCString() + "; path=/"; [22] 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). [29] The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic,[30][31] dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution.[32]. The Ogaden War therefore remains the best example of the SNA's ability to mount and sustain conventional military operations. At the outbreak of fighting, Ethiopia had approximately sixteen F5A /Es. 5–15. Before the Ogaden War, the most striking feature of the 23,000-man SNA had been its large armored force, which was equipped with about 250 T-34 and T-54/T-55 Soviet-built medium tanks and more than 300 armored personnel carriers. [25][26] 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). 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. Harbi was killed in a plane crash two years later. 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. This equipment gave the SNA a tank force more than three times as large as Ethiopia's. 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. [23] 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. 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. They thus secretly approached Mengistu with offers of aid that he accepted. It occupies the barren plain between the Somalia-Ethiopia border and the Ethiopian Eastern Highlands, on which the cities of Harer and Dire Dawa are situated. However, the country remained in chaos as the military attempted to suppress its civilian opponents. From 1976 to 1977, Somalia supplied arms and other aid to the WSLF. Henceforth, Dire Dawa was never at risk of attack.[36]. 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. Gebru Tareke (2000). 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 the summer of 1977, the SNA-WSLF force achieved several victories but also endured some significant defeats.