The Isaaq genocide (Somali: Xasuuqii beesha Isaaq; Arabic: الإبادة الجماعية لقبيلة إسحاق), also known as the Hargeisa Holocaust, was the systematic, state-sponsored genocide of Isaaq civilians between 1987 and 1989 by the Somali Democratic Republic, under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, during the Somaliland War of Independence. The number of civilian deaths in this massacre is estimated to be between 50,000 and 100,000, according to various sources, whilst local reports estimate the total civilian deaths to be upwards of 200,000 Isaaq civilians. The genocide, which escalated after the Somali National Movement (SNM)'s 1988 Northern Somalia offensive, was marked by intense fighting that included SNM attacks on Ogaden refugee camps. These refugees, who had arrived after the 1977 Ogaden War, were viewed by the SNM as a paramilitary force used by the state to colonize Isaaq land. The genocide included the levelling and complete destruction of the largest and second largest cities in Somaliland, Hargeisa (which was 90 percent destroyed) and Burao (70 percent destroyed), respectively. In addition, up to 500,000 Somalilanders, primarily of the Isaaq clan, fled across the border as refugees to Hartasheikh, Ethiopia, in what was described as "one of the fastest and largest forced movements of people recorded in Africa," which resulted in the creation of the world's then-largest refugee camp. An additional 400,000 Somalilanders were internally displaced. The scale of destruction led to Hargeisa becoming known as the 'Dresden of Africa'. The killings happened during the Somali Civil War and have been referred to as a "forgotten genocide".
In the countryside, the persecution of Isaaq included the creation of a mechanised section of the Somali Armed Forces dubbed as Dabar Goynta Isaaqa (lit. 'The Isaaq Exterminators') consisting entirely of non-Isaaqs (mainly Ogaden); this unit conducted a "systematic pattern of attacks against unarmed, civilian villages, watering points and grazing areas of Somaliland, killing many of their residents and forcing survivors to flee for safety to remote areas". This resulted in entire villages being depopulated and towns getting plundered. Rape was also used as a weapon against Isaaqs. Human Rights Watch states that this unit, along with other branches of the military, were responsible for terrorising Isaaq nomads in the countryside. Dabar Goynta Isaaqa would later turn into a system of governance where local officials would put the most hard-line policies into effect against the local Isaaq population. The Somali government also planted one million land mines within Isaaq territory.
