Draft:Colonel Abdi-aziz Abdulle Farah Bowbowle

Abdi-aziz Abdulle Farah (Bowbowle) 1 July 1948 – 28 December 1992) was a senior Somali Colonel in the Somali National Army.

Early years

Colonel Bowbowle was born on 1 July 1948 in Eyl, Nugal region of Somalia. Abdi-aziz’s father Abdulle Farah Adde (Bowbowle) 1, January 1924 - 1993 was an influential businessman in the northeastern regions of Somalia. His family hailed from the Omar Mohamud sub-clan of the larger Majeerteen Harti Darod clan.

Somali Army

Abdi-aziz joined the Somali Army in 1967. For his post-secondary education, Bowbowle studied at the Frunze Military Academy in the former Soviet Union (Военная академия им. М. В. Фрунзе), an elite institution reserved for the most qualified officers of the Warsaw Pact armies and their allies. He was the last group of Somali officers who completed their staff training at Frunze. Colonel Abdi-aziz was one of the brightest of his generation.

Ogaden campaign

Upon returning to Somalia in 1975, he served in the planning and operations sector, under the leadership of General Mohamed Ali Samatar, Bowbowle and other senior Somali military officials were mandated in 1977 with formulating a national strategy in preparation for the Ogaden campaign in Ethiopia. This was part of a broader effort to unite all of the Somali-inhabited territories in the Horn region into a Greater Somalia (Soomaaliweyn).

By mid-July 1977, the Somali forces from the 21st Division simultaneously launched highly sophisticated attack on Qarbri-Dahare and Warder. Upon the successful capture of Qabri Dahare in late July 1977, Colonel Bowbowle was appointed as the deputy commander under Colonel Ali Hussein.

Post civil war

By mid-1990, United Somali Congress (USC) rebels had captured most towns and villages surrounding Mogadishu, which prompted some to give Barre the ironic title 'Mayor of Mogadishu. In December the USC entered Mogadishu. After four weeks of battle between USC and Barre's remaining troops, the USC rebels defeated the Red Berets, Barre's special forces. The remainder of the government's forces then finally collapsed. Colonel Abdi-aziz Bowbowle went to his hometown Galkayo and stayed there until his death on December 28, 1992.