In April 1981 the Somali National Movement (shortened SNM) was founded, which led to the Somaliland War of Independence. In 1988, at the height of the war, the Siad Barre government began a crackdown against the Hargeisa-based SNM and other militant groups, which were among the events that led to the Somali Civil War. The conflict left Somalia's economic and military infrastructure severely damaged. Following the collapse of Barre's government in early 1991, local authorities, led by the SNM, unilaterally declared independence from Somalia on 18 May of the same year and reinstated the borders of the former short-lived independent State of Somaliland.