Talk:Ogaden War

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Military history: African / Russian & Soviet / Cold War

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A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the On this day section on July 13, 2013 and July 13, 2015.

Somali Leaders of the Ogaden War in 1977

This is the second time I correct this website. There is NO ONE named Colonel Ahmed Haji Hassan in 1977. No such name served Somali Army as a colonel or or as a commanding officer in 1977 in all of Ogaden War Fronts. WE cannot even find a captain of the same name. PLEASE STOP ABUSING THIS HISTORY.

PLEASE do not add fictitious figures and titles.

Let us not insert alternative facts or fake news here. Please note that Somali officers in 1977 are well documented in many articles and books. Please do NOT change this list

Number of USSR troops

34000 is exaggerated number and all the sources I checked indicates 1500 mixed military and diplomatic advisers,

Photo collage of the war

Hello to all, I suggest to add collage of photos in infobox of the war, something like this. If all ingore it I will put it myself Algirr (talk) 04:04, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Usually when proposing something like that, you'll have to place the collage here in the talk page or your sandbox for editors to see if it is worth the infobox clutter or not 𐩣𐩫𐩧𐩨 Abo Yemen (𓃵) 09:50, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, i will do it later Algirr (talk) 15:26, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It will looks like this Algirr (talk) 16:08, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Or we can put more photos (if we find them) Algirr (talk) 16:09, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

so, I placed it here but nobody reacts, even you) Algirr (talk) 22:37, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It looks better than what we had previously tbh. (also please ping me next time

) 𐩣𐩫𐩧𐩨 Abo Yemen (𓃵) 23:46, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, thanks, so I can put it? Because nobody cares except you, and you are said It better Algirr (talk) 01:36, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Sure. Is there a better image than the one of the broken-down tank? 𐩣𐩫𐩧𐩨 Abo Yemen (𓃵) 10:41, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

i don't think so. I have other photos but they are not very good because of the scale (they more close to 9:16) and will be very small Algirr (talk) 15:30, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

cant they be cropped? 𐩣𐩫𐩧𐩨 Abo Yemen (𓃵) 15:40, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

if they will be cropped they will look bad because almost all details will be cropped Algirr (talk) 15:49, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Misidentified Location of M47 Tank

This image is incorrectly captioned. It claims to show a "destroyed Ethiopian M47 tank in Jijiga," but this is factually wrong.

I have personally lived in the exact area where this tank is located, Baar Ubax (Black Sea), Mogadishu, Somalia and I can confirm with full certainty that this tank is in Somalia, not Ethiopia. The terrain, surroundings, and structure are unmistakable. I also have a separate photo of this same tank and area from the same angle that confirms this.

This kind of mislabeling is serious and spreads misinformation about a historically sensitive subject. I strongly urge that the location be corrected as soon as possible, or the image be temporarily removed until the proper verification is completed.

If required, I am willing to upload my matching photo to Commons for verification. Majid8097 (talk) 16:18, 15 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Majid8097 I agree as I've seen the same tank wreck in photos taken in Mogadishu just a few years ago for whatever that's worth. If you could upload the recent image to Commons anyways that would be great to avoid any future debates on Wikipedia about it and simply to document the wreck properly.

I (or someone else) will replace the current image with something undisputed as soon as I get the chance. Whoopsawa (talk) 19:23, 15 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I also think the image of the tank should not be on this article. It seems to be destroyed during the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006, probably by Somali fighters with an RPG-7 (rocket propelled grenade launcher). I will upload the matching photo I have and it'll soon be available. Thanks! Majid8097 (talk) 07:47, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I replaced the image. It possible it was destroyed during Ethiopian military occupation, but in my opinion it's probably SNA tank that was destroyed by USC rebels during the fall of Somali Democratic Republic during December 1990/January 1991. You can see another M47 (in better shape) in this photo taken by US troops in the capital during 1993, captioned: "Three abandoned Somali (US Manufactured) M47 Tanks sit destroyed amongst some trees near a warehouse. The US Army's 10th Mountain Division (not shown) stumbled across the abandoned tank." Whoopsawa (talk) 11:26, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You're absolutely right. I recall a note mentioning that Somalia acquired around 123 M47 tanks from Saudi Arabia during the early/pre-civil war period. So this one was most likely a Somali National Army tank destroyed by USC rebels, as you said. Glad we’ve cleared up that misinformation. Majid8097 (talk) 11:38, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]