# Ogaden War Cuts the Railway (1977)

URL: https://allhistories.com/djibouti/timeline/1977-ogaden-war-cuts-the-railway
Location: Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
Themes: battle

The Ogaden, a largely Somali-inhabited region of eastern Ethiopia, was claimed by Somalia as part of a Greater Somalia that also included Djibouti. Within weeks of Djibouti's independence, the Somali army under Siad Barre and the Western Somali Liberation Front launched a full-scale invasion of the region in July 1977. The Franco-Ethiopian railway linking Djibouti to Addis Ababa ran through the war zone. Somali forces advanced as far as Dire Dawa, and sections of the line and its bridges were blown up, cutting Ethiopia's main outlet to the sea and depriving Djibouti's port of much of its traffic; by mid-1978 the line was reported to be running at only about half of its capacity. The Djiboutian government declared neutrality, though many Issa politicians sympathised with Somalia and some dreamed of a Greater Djibouti. Cuban and Soviet support allowed Ethiopia to drive the Somali army out by March 1978. The war weakened Somalia's claims on Djibouti, but it brought tens of thousands of Ethiopian refugees into the country and left the railway in poor condition for years, a blow to the economy of the young republic. At this point in the timeline (1977–1978), the President of Djibouti was Hassan Gouled Aptidon (27 June 1977 – 12 June 1981). Government: the Prime Minister of Djibouti was Ahmed Dini Ahmed (12 July 1977 – 5 February 1978).

## Why it matters
The war showed how vulnerable Djibouti's economy was to conflict in its hinterland and how much the new state's survival depended on neutrality.

Ruler at the Time: [Hassan Gouled Aptidon](https://allhistories.com/djibouti/rulers/hassan-gouled-aptidon)

Prime Minister of Djibouti: Ahmed Dini Ahmed (African People's League for Independence)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Ogaden War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogaden_War)
- [Wikipedia — Ethio-Djibouti Railways](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethio-Djibouti_Railways)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Ogaden War](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Ogaden+War)
- [Wikipedia — Military history of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Djibouti)
- [Wikipedia — Gouled Aptidon'S Republic (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Djibouti)