Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya

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Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI; Arabic: الاتحاد الإسلامي, lit. 'The Islamic Union') was an Islamist politico-military group in Somalia. Formed in 1983 through a merger of smaller Islamist groups, the organization was the most powerful Islamic movement in the country during the late 80s and early 90s. It also had the most widespread clan following of all the Islamist factions across the nation and professed the aim of creating a Somali Islamic state. In response to the collapse of the Somali Democratic Republic during 1991, the organization militarized and became involved in several wars with foreign troops and clan based factions. It carried out insurgent attacks against United Nations Operation in Somalia II forces in Mogadishu and the Ethiopian army in the Ogaden during the early 1990s, while also fighting against the United Somali Congress and Somali Salvation Democratic Front. AIAI administered several major urban centers during the civil war including the ports of Merca and Bosaso and...

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