1963–1965 Ogaden rebellion

The 1963–1965 Ogaden rebellion was an uprising and insurgency by the Somali population of the Ogaden region in Ethiopia against attempts at taxation and cultural assimilation by the government of Emperor Haile Selassie. Somali leader Mukhtal Dahir, previously a founder of the Somali Youth League, led the insurgency after demands for self-determination by Somali leaders in the region were consistently ignored. The rebellion, which at its peak controlled nearly 70% of the Ogaden region, originated from long-standing tensions between the Somali and Ethiopian populations, exacerbated by harsh military crackdowns and punitive expeditions by Ethiopian forces.

Despite the rebels receiving material support from the Somali government, they operated independently of Mogadishu. The Ethiopian government's attempts to regain control over the region were impeded by the challenging terrain for the army and the rebels' effective guerrilla tactics. However, the Ethiopian Imperial Army's 3rd Division, after an air campaign and regrouping, managed to regain significant portions of the territory, though the insurgency persisted.

Emperor Haile Selassie's response to the rebellion involved repressive measures and collective punishment against the Somali population, leading to severe deterioration in Ethio–Somali relations and laying the groundwork for the 1964 Ethiopian-Somali Border War. The war resulted in a decrease in insurgent activity, but the rebellion's impact continued. Despite the armistice between the Ethiopian Empire and the Somali Republic, the Ogaden rebels, seeing their fight as separate, vowed to continue their resistance. By 1965 the rebellion had mostly subsided, though insurgent elements remained active until the formation of the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) in 1973.