Somali Salvation Democratic Front

Often credited with being the first official armed resistance to Siad Barre’s regime in Somalia, the group was formed in the Somali Salvation Front in 1978 by Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed. The SSDF, also known as the Democratic Front for the Salvation of Somalia, drew a majority of its support from the Majerteen clan in central Somalia, and other smaller rebel groups, including the Somali Salvation Front, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Somalia, and the Somali Workers Party. The group was based out of Ethiopia, but it conducted guerrilla campaigns in Somalia to undermine Barre’s regime. The SSDF believed in a Somalia that was liberated from Barre’s rule and returned to the traditional clan system of governance. Although the group collapsed in 1985 due to internal divisions before it could achieve its goal of overthrowing Barre, its leaders continued to play key roles in the fight against the oppressive regime.