to maintain control over the northern regions of Somalia. I. M. Lewis contextualises the period in which Afraad was formed as follows: The process of Daarood colonization of the north including seizure of property and economic favouritism at Isaaq expense, greatly intensified under Gani's brutal rule, with the systematic application of the apparatuses of state repression which increased in number and scope after the formation of the Isaaq-based Somali National Movement in April 1981Armed clashes between Afraad and the Ogaden forces of WSLF began shortly after 1979. An Isaaq army officer arrested 14 leading WSLF fighters who have been harassing and abusing the local population at Gobyar. From February 1982, Isaaq army officers and fighters from the Fourth Brigade started moving into Ethiopia where they formed the nucleus of what would later become the Somali National Movement. Notes Source: U.S. Library of Congress References 1970s in Somalia 1980s in Somalia Factions of the Ethiopian Civil War National liberation movements in Africa History of Ethiopia Paramilitary organisations based in Ethiopia Rebel groups in Ethiopia Separatism in Ethiopia Somali nationalism