It was the primary opponent of the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM) and the Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) vying for the control of Kismayo and the Juba River valley, the area known as Jubaland.
Following the breakdown of central authority in the Somali Civil War, General Hersi "Morgan" declared Jubaland independent on September 3, 1998.
[3] The ASF administration renamed itself the Juba Valley Alliance in June 2001, and threw its support behind the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).
[6] In 2002, the JVA battled with the Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), which opposed the TFG, resulting in 6,000 refugees fleeing Bulo Hawa.
[8] The JVA suffered the loss of Kismayo in September 2006 to an array of ICU forces with 130 technicals,[9][10] and further defeat during Islamic Court Union's takeover of the Juba Valley in October 2006,[11] On September 23, ICU forces under Sheik Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki approached Jilib, en route to Kismayo.
Barderians being part of the larger Juba region, the population in Gedo and Bardera in particular, disliked the ICU and its attack on Kismayo.