1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:06,960 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi everyone, I'm Eves and welcome to This 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:10,040 Speaker 1: Day in History Class, a podcast where we one day 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: ship nugs of history straight to your brain through your earhole. 5 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: Today it's March. The day was March fift ninety eight. 6 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: The Ogoden War ended when the Western Somali Liberation Front 7 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: was defeated and Somali troops were withdrawn from the Ogoden region. 8 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 1: Ogdden is a region in eastern Ethiopia that lies between 9 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: the Ethiopian Highlands and the border between Somalia and Ethiopia. 10 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: The Ogoden was along a disputed region. As part of 11 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: an agreement made in nineteen forty eight, Ethiopia regained control 12 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: over the Ogoden region from Britain. In nineteen sixty the 13 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: Trust Territory of Somali Land and the State of Somali 14 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:05,759 Speaker 1: Land united to form the Somali Republic, also known as Somalia. 15 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: A government was formed and Somalia ratified a new constitution 16 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty one, but in nineteen sixty nine, Somali 17 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:19,959 Speaker 1: President Abdirashid Ali Shader Marki was assassinated. The assassination was 18 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: followed by a military coup orchestrated by the Somali Army. 19 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: The Supreme Revolutionary Council or s r C became the 20 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,639 Speaker 1: new governing body of Somalia. The SRC renamed the country 21 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:37,680 Speaker 1: the Somali Democratic Republic and banned political parties. It also 22 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: suspended the constitution, abolished the National Assembly, and supported national 23 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: liberation movements. At the same time, in Ethiopia, Hila Selassie 24 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: was still ruling as the Emperor of Ethiopia after taking 25 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: the throne decades earlier. In nineteen thirty, the Ogaden Liberation 26 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: Front launched a rebellion against the government in eastern Ethiopia, 27 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: and nineteen sixty three so Molly government troops supported them. 28 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: A border war soon broke out between Ethiopia and Somalia, 29 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: but after a couple of months the two countries agreed 30 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: to a cease fire. But in nineteen seventy four, Emperor 31 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,359 Speaker 1: Hila Celastie was overthrown by the DARE, also known as 32 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: the Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia. One of the 33 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: groups that emerged out of the ensuing political instability was 34 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: the Western Somali Liberation Front or w s l F. 35 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: The w S LF was made up of Somali's living 36 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: in the Ogaden region. In February of nineteen seventy seven, 37 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: the w s l F launched an insurgency against the 38 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: Ethiopian government in the Ogoden region. The Somali government gave 39 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: the group military assistance. Months later, thousands of Somali government 40 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: troops and w s LF rebels invaded the Ogodden and 41 00:02:55,320 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 1: went up against Ethiopian forces. The Soviet Union, Cuba, and 42 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: South Yemen, as well as other communist countries, supplied military 43 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,920 Speaker 1: assistance to Ethiopia. With all its aid, Ethiopia managed to 44 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: drive back Somali troops and the w s LF. On 45 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: March nine, ninety eight, the Somali National Army was ordered 46 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: to withdraw from the Ogaden region and retreat back to Somalia. 47 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: On March fifteenth, the last significant unit of Somali troops 48 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: went back to Somalia. As Ethiopia had captured most of Ogaden, 49 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: Somalia gave up his claim to the region. More than 50 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: ten thousand people were killed during the conflict. By the 51 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: early nineteen eighties, there were more than a million refugees 52 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 1: in Somalia from the Ogoden region. The w s LF 53 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: remained active in the Ogoden, but by the late nineteen 54 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: eighties the group had become defunct. I'm each chef code 55 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 56 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. Looking at for a content a 57 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: little more sophisticated than cat memes in your feed. Connect 58 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: with us on social media at T D I h 59 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: C podcast, or if you are so inclined, you can 60 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: send us a message at this day at I heart 61 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you 62 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 1: same place tomorrow. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, 63 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 64 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.