Western Somali Liberation Front

The Western Somali Liberation Front (Somali: Jabhadda Xoreynta Somali Galbeed; abbreviated WSLF) was a Somali nationalist movement that waged an insurgency for the independence of the Somali-inhabited Ogaden from Ethiopia and its unification with Somalia.

Originating from Somali insurgent networks resisting the rule of the Ethiopian Empire in the early 1960s, the WSLF became the principal force behind the armed struggle for self-determination and independence in the Ogaden throughout the 1970s. Though a Somali oriented movement, the organization also included many members of the Harari and Oromo peoples of Ethiopia’s Muslim population who supported the Somali cause.

The WSLF eventually received the backing of the Somali Democratic Republic led by Siad Barre, and played a central role in the 1977–78 Ogaden War, fighting alongside the Somali National Army (SNA) after it had launched a major invasion intended to capitalize on the success of the growing success of the WSLF insurgency. Despite early gains, the war ended in strategic defeat after a massive Soviet and Cuban military intervention on Ethiopia’s behalf.

The WSLF continued its guerrilla operations into the 1980s, but gradually declined due to internal divisions and intensified Ethiopian counterinsurgency campaigns, which were supported by Cuban forces and Somali proxy factions that were aligned with the Ethiopian government. Despite its decline, the WSLF laid the foundation for subsequent Somali insurgent movements in the region, most notably the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).