The SNM, led by Mohammed Hashi Lihle, launched an offensive with around 400 fighters against a heavily armed SNA garrison of 1,000 soldiers and 70 technical vehicles.

The Somali National Movement was founded in 1981 by members of the Isaaq clan who sought to overthrow the dictatorship of Siad Barre and secure the self-determination of Somaliland.

Between 1987 and 1989, the Somali National Army (SNA) killed an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 Isaaq civilians, bombed major cities such as Hargeisa and Burco, and displaced hundreds of thousands.

[4] The SNM emerged as the primary armed resistance to Barre's regime, carrying out guerrilla warfare and securing support from the Ethiopian government, which hosted their bases near the Somaliland border.

The Somaliland War of Independence, waged between 1981 and 1991, was characterized by brutal atrocities, urban warfare, and SNM-led offensives to reclaim territories and resist the Barre regime's military campaigns.