Perennial clan clashes in Somalia have taken an enormous toll on the whole of Somali society, claiming an unknown number of lives and robbing families of livelihoods. \u00a0Women and children have borne the brunt of the violent conflict with the loss of their husbands, fathers, and breadwinners.<\/p>\n
In one area struck by clan conflict in the rural areas of northern Somalia\u2019s Sool region, three widows shared with Radio Ergo their stories of lives shattered several times over by clan-based violence.<\/p>\n
The stories below of war widows Haweye, Amina and Khadra, living around 75 km south of Lasanod, all experience their most recent losses in October this year.<\/p>\n
Haweye\u2019s story<\/strong><\/p>\n Haweye Elmi Warsame has been married three times but is now a widow raising her eight children as best she can.<\/p>\n In 2004, the year that the clan clashes erupted in the area, she married Mohamed Ahmed Ali in Dharkeyn village.\u00a0 They lived happily together for eight years, during which time they had five children.<\/p>\n In 2012, the fighting took a more serious turn. \u00a0Ahmed was gunned down in a revenge attack by members of the opposing clan.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was fierce fighting between two clans living in the area. It led to the deaths of dozens of people and the displacement of hundreds others. My husband was killed while herding camels in a remote area,\u201d Haweye recounted.<\/p>\n Some months later, she married again to Adan Ahmed Ali, the brother of her late husband, in a ceremony organized by her in-laws.<\/p>\n The ceremony locally known as\u00a0Dumaal<\/em>\u00a0is a form of wife inheritance, which is common among Somali clans.<\/p>\n The couple started their new life together in Dharkeyn.<\/p>\n In 2015, as the clan conflict was rumbling on, there were yet more revenge killings. Her second husband was one of the victims.<\/p>\n \u201cI had given birth to a child by my second husband. \u00a0He was trader and was not involved in any armed conflict, but unfortunately he was shot by gunmen in the village,\u201d Haweye said.<\/p>\n Haweye married for the third time in 2016. \u00a0Abdirahim Ahmed Ali, her third husband, was also from the same family as her previous husbands and the marriage was arranged through\u00a0Dumaal<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a mason and he used to give me $100 dollars monthly to spend on food, water and other basics. \u00a0The amount was enough compared to what I survive on now, today,\u201d Haweya said.<\/p>\n Abdirahim was killed in October, again as a result of ongoing conflict, leaving Haweya once again a widow.\u00a0 She said he was targeted because of his clan as hostilities had once again arisen in the village.<\/p>\n Amina\u2019s story<\/strong><\/p>\n Amina Abdi Mohamud lost her first husband, Abdiaziz Awil Abdikani and their 14-year old son when armed clan militiamen stormed their village of Dhumay in 2014.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were killed in the morning. By that time there no clashes going on but armed men still attacked them. They were only killed because of their clan,\u201d Amina said.<\/p>\n Months later, the village was attacked again. This time, Amina\u2019s two brothers were killed.<\/p>\n \u201cI was traumatized by these two attacks. \u00a0In just a few months, I lost four of my family members. \u00a0There are times when I feel overwhelmed by grief when I look at any of their belongings,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Three and half years later, Amina married her late husband\u2019s brother, Abdirahim Awil, in a\u00a0Dumaal\u00a0<\/em>ceremony.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter I married Abdirahim, the life of my family returned to normal. \u00a0He used to help us very much,\u201d said Amina.<\/p>\n But Abdirahim was killed in October after deadly fighting in Dumay village.<\/p>\n A mother of eight children, Amina fled the village and is currently living in a camp for the internally displaced in Sahder town, with over 500 other IDPs.<\/p>\n Khadra\u2019s story<\/strong><\/p>\n Khadra Adan Warsame\u2019s first husband, Abdikani Ahmed Ali, was a teacher at a school in Darkeyn village.<\/p>\n According to Khadra, the death of Abdikani in 2012 was a revenge killing by members of an opposing clan.<\/p>\n \u201cI have three children from Abdikani,\u201d Khadra said.\u00a0 \u201cHe was a school teacher and he never participated in clan clashes, but gunmen killed him on his way to work at the school.\u201d<\/p>\n The following year, Abdikani\u2019s brother Mohamud Ali Ahmed proposed to marry Khadra. She accepted the\u00a0Dumaal<\/em>\u00a0marriage in accordance with the culture of the clan. But it was not long before tragedy struck again.<\/p>\n \u201cI was remarried three years after my first marriage. \u00a0Mohamud was the brother of my first husband. \u00a0After two years of our marriage, Mohamud was killed in crossfire between two clan militias in Dabatag village. He was fetching water for the family when he was killed by clan militias. \u00a0I have two children from Mohamud,\u201d Khadra narrated.<\/p>\n Similarly to Haweye, Khadra went on in 2016 to marry for a third time within the same family under customary laws.<\/p>\n They had one child, a boy. Abdullahi Ahmed Ali was also killed in October this year, when his son was two years old.<\/p>\n Khadra, widowed three times over, is living in Kalabayr village with her six children from three different fathers.<\/p>\n Source: Radio Ergo<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Perennial clan clashes in Somalia have taken an enormous toll on the whole of Somali society, claiming an unknown number of lives and robbing families of livelihoods. \u00a0Women and children have borne the brunt of the violent conflict with the loss of their husbands, fathers, and breadwinners. 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