In the early Middle Ages, the conquest of Shewa by the Ifat Sultanate ignited a rivalry for supremacy with the Solomonic Dynasty.

Many similar battles were fought between the succeeding Sultanate of Adal and the Solomonids, with both sides achieving victory and suffering defeat.

[5][6] Al-Ghazi's forces and their Ottoman allies came close to extinguishing the ancient Ethiopian kingdom, but the Abyssinians managed to secure the assistance of Cristóvão da Gama's Portuguese troops and maintain their domain's autonomy.

However, both polities in the process exhausted their resources and manpower, which resulted in the contraction of both powers and changed regional dynamics for centuries to come.

In August and September 1918, the Somali battalion fought on the Oise front and in October 1918 he obtained his second citation to the order of the army as well as the right to wear a Fourragère in the colors of the ribbon of the Croix de guerre 1914–1918.

British forces in Ethiopia begin dropping leaflets calling on the French Somaliland to rally to Free France.

The newspaper Djibouti Libre published in Dire Dawa is also air dropped into the Vichy controlled colony and a 15-minute newscast is broadcast over the radio.

In a notable illustration of the nature of Cold War alliances, the Soviet Union switched from supplying aid to Somalia to supporting Ethiopia, which had previously been backed by the United States.

[7] This violation of the borders by a regular foreign army falls strictly within the framework of the protocols passed between France and Djibouti.

This is why, on May 26 at 10:30 p.m., Operation Godoria is launched, all Djiboutian and French forces, land, air and sea stationed in Djibouti participate in it.

Djiboutian and French troops deployed, facing the firmness of their interlocutors, the Ethiopian officers yielded to the demands and agreed to continue the disarmament already begun.

The 5th Overseas Interarms Regiment took charge of a detachment of 4,300 military refugees, accompanied by a few families and embarked in 120 vehicles of all types heading towards the southern border.

The initial aim is to clean up a border area of 150 km2, collect, remove supplies, inventory and hand over abandoned weapons to the Djiboutian authorities.

The "Lynx Mike" detachment identifies thousands of individual and collective weapons, includes the T 55, ZU-23-2, BTR and BRDM, finally destroys the 50 tons of unpackaged ammunition of all calibers.

From May 30 to June 13, there will be a total of 12,500 weapons from the AK47 to the T64, including LRMs, 122 howitzers and more than 200 tons of ammunition from the 200 kg bomb to the cartridge factory, via rockets LRM which will have been moved, sorted, stored, even for some of them neutralized or destroyed.

Perfectly impregnated with the spirit of the mission, the porpoises, from the colonel to the simple soldier, knew how to demand from this Ethiopian army, demoralized, but still supervised, the strict application of the orders emanating from the civil and military authorities, Djiboutian and French, in starting with disarmament before providing them with the food support that has become essential.

In 2008, the countries clashed again when Djibouti refused to return Eritrean deserters and Eritrea responded by firing at the Djiboutian forces.

Just prior to independence in 1977, the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas established a national army to defend the Djiboutian's borders.

The army has concentrated on mobility in its equipment purchases, suitable for patrol duties and counterattacks but ill-suited for armoured warfare.

The 2008 border clashes at least temporarily swelled the ranks of the Djiboutian army, with retired personnel being recalled, but the military's size and capabilities are much reduced since the 1990s.

Thus in the early 2000s it looked outward for a model of army organization that would best advance defensive capabilities by restructuring forces into smaller, more mobile units instead of traditional divisions.

The official tasks of the armed forces include strengthening the country against external attack, and maintaining border security.

Over the years, Djiboutian Army has established partnerships with militaries in France, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and the United States.

Through joint exercises and humanitarian missions, including disaster relief, the Djiboutian Navy promotes bilateral relations between nations.

It has a fleet of gunboats, fast missile boats and support, training, which can be deployed to defend the territorial waters and coastline of Djibouti as well as protect tankers passing through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.

The acquisition of the several boats from the US in 2006 considerably increased the navy's ability to patrol over longer distances and to remain at sea for several days at a time.

Cooperation with the US and Yemeni navies is also increasing in an effort to protect and maintain the safety and security of the Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC).

Like many other coast guards, it is a paramilitary organization that can support the Djiboutian Navy in wartime, but resides under separate civilian control in times of peace.