Stiff Opposition from the North Bothers
In Somalia itself, the historical north-south divide has surfaced. The north accuses the regime of President Siad Barre of failure to develop the region economically. And President Barre has devoted much time towards the pacification of the north including a general amnesty for all political exiles, announced in 1983. Several externally based "liberation" movements have been established by northerners. Somalia has, from time to time, accused Ethiopia and Libya of backing such movements, which engage in sporadic guerrilla activities against the Barre regime.
In 1981 and again in 1983, groups of Somali notables sent memoranda to
President Barre asking him to retire voluntarily. They cited several
ills in his regime-a futile war against Ethiopia; unviable state
majority ownership in enterprises; partiality towards the East- and
West blocs; and failure to maintain national unity by ignoring the
north-south political and economic imbalance.
But could President Barre
relinguish power voluntarily? So far, only three former African rulers
have done so - Leopold Senghor (Senegal), Ahmadou Ahidjo (Cameroon),
and Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria).
Finally in 1991 the army toppled President Siad Barre who later died in
exile and since then Somalia has never regained any semblance of peace.
National Movements and New States in Africa