rift valley institute | Contested Borderlands Between Somaliland and Puntland Marginalization, militarization and conflicting political visions MARKUS VIRGIL HOEHNE rift VALLEY institute | Contested Borderlands Between Somaliland and Puntland Marginalization, militarization and conflicting political visions MarKus virGil HoeHne Published in 2015 by the Rift Valley Institute 26 St Luke’s Mews, London W11 1DF, United Kingdom PO Box 52771 GPO, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya tHe rift VALLEY institute (RVI) The Rift Valley Institute (www.riftvalley.net) works in Eastern and Central Africa to bring local knowledge to bear on social, political and economic development. tHe autHor Markus Virgil Hoehne is a lecturer in social anthropology at the University of Leipzig. This work is based on research he carried out during his time at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle/Saale, Germany. Between soMaliland and puntland The Rift Valley Institute takes no position on the status of Somaliland or Puntland. Views expressed in Between Somaliland and Puntland are those of the author. Boundaries shown on maps in this book are endorsed neither by the Rift Valley Institute, nor by the author. RVI exeCutive direCtor: John Ryle RVI Horn of afriCa and east afriCa reGional direCtor: Mark Bradbury RVI inforMation and proGraMMes adMINISTRATOR: Tymon Kiepe editorial ManaGeMent: Catherine Bond editors: Peter Fry and Fergus Nicoll report desiGn: Lindsay Nash Maps: Jillian Luff, MAPgrafix isBn 978-1-907431-13-5 Cover: Amina Abdulkadir The painting depicts the complexities of political belonging since the collapse of the Somali state in 1991. The yellow lines indicate the frontiers claimed by Somaliland and Puntland. The colour closest to gold portrays the contest for resources. The blue, white, green, and red—found on the flags of Somaliland and Puntland—illustrate the complexities within the borderlands. riGHts Copyright © The Rift Valley Institute 2015 Text and maps published under Creative Commons license Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 Available for free download at www.riftvalley.net Printed copies are available from Amazon and other online retailers, and from selected bookstores. B YEMEN a n Asebb b Caluula Ras Casayr e e l M a d nd A eb Qandala f Bargaal SeSerrddo ObokObok DJIBOUTI o Bosaaso ra TadjourahTaT djourah Tadjou f Laasqorey lf of l Ras Gu Djibouti u ains AyAysysaitait Artat G Maydh ount Xaafuun Saylac lis M Badhan Alili Sabieh Xiis Go Iskushuban Xaafuun DikhilD h Lughaya Ceerigaabo Berbera d Buula Xaawa Biye K’obe Qardho BandarbayleBandarbayle Baki Somaliland n Boorame Sheekh Ceel Afweyn Gabiley Mandheera Gar’adag a Burco Taleex Tog Wajaale DiDirree Dawa Xudun l Jijiga HarshinHar inn Hargeysa Oodweyne Caynabo N a r t a m HararHarar Laascaanood A h Kabribehay Widhwidh H Garoowen a Buuhoodle AwAwareare u Eyl DhagaxbuurDhagaxbuur d u GashaamoGashaamo Fiq Burtinle P DanotDanot BokhBokh Jariiban SheygoshS n Galaadii GarboGarbo e Garacad Wardheer Gaalkacayo QabrideharQabridehar d a A Caabudwaaq u Imi g d EETHIOPIATHIOPIA Cadaado o O R GodeyGodey a Dhuusamarreeb n K’K’elaelafofo Hobyo g G W an e a e le b Ferfer i G e si HargeleHargele ro Beledweyne Ceel Buur Xarardheere Ceel Barde W e b i S h a b e SOMALIA e Dolo AdowAdow Xuddur l e Buulobarde MandheeraMandheeMandheeraaandndhdheeraheeeraera Buula Xaawa Waajid INDIAN Luuq Jalalaqsi Ceel dheer Garbahaarrey Baydhabo Wanlaweyn Jawhar Cadallee Ceel Waaq Buurxakaba OOCEANC EAN Balcad Baardheere Afgooye 0 km 200 Diinsor Mogadishuu Qoryooley (Muqdisho)) InInterternationalnational W Marka e boundaryboundary b i Bu’aale J u DisputedDisputed boundaryboundary b b a Baraawe National capital Capital Jilib Afmadow Chief town Jamaame Other town or village Road Kismaayo Selected river Lake MAP BoundariesBoun are approximate gr Buur Gaabo © Rift Valley Institute 2015 ax KENKENYAYA Ras Kamboni Boundaries and names shown do not imply 2015 www.riftvalleyriftvalley.net.net endorsement by the RVI or any other body Map 1. Somalia Contents Preface 9 1. Introduction 13 2. Political geography of the borderlands 25 3. The making of a contested borderland 40 4. Militarization of the Dhulbahante territories (2002–2009) 62 5. Dhulbahante autonomy: From the SSC to Khaatumo (2009–2014) 78 6. Warsangeli Sonderweg: Resource conflict and militant Islamism 119 in the Golis Mountains (2006–2014) 7. Conclusion: Disentangling the contested borderlands 150 8. Policy considerations 160 Principal characters 163 Glossary 166 Acronyms 168 Bibliography 169 Maps and diaGraMs Map 1. Somalia 3 Map 2. Political divisions in northern Somalia from 1998 26–7 Map 3. Clan areas in northern Somalia 32 Map 4. Area of SSC operations 2009–2011 84 Map 5. Conflict zone in the Golis Mountains (2006–2014) 125 Diagram 1. Main descent groups in northern Somalia 20 and eastern Ethiopia Diagram 2. Simplified genealogy of the Dhulbahante clan 67 Diagram 3. Simplified genealogy of the Warsangeli clan 121 Acknowledgements This work would not have been possible without the long standing friend- ship and cooperation of numerous people in Somaliland, Puntland, and in-between. While it is impossible to name all of them, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Cabdi Maxamuud Cali ‘Yere’, Axmed Maxamuud Warsaame ‘Daakir’, Siciid Xaaji Nuur, Xasan ‘Carab’, Maxamuud ‘Ilweyn’, Ugaas Cabdulaahi Ciise, Cabdirisaq ‘Lafoole’, Cabdinasir ‘Abushaybe’, Cabdulaahi ‘Sanjab’, Axmed ‘Cadaani’ and his family, Maxamuud ‘Xiis’, Cabdi ‘Indho’, Cabdi ‘Shiine’, Axmed ‘Bandow’, Qamar ‘Teleexi’, Suldaan Muuse, Mahad Maxamuud ‘Yere’, Axmed Cabullahi Du’aale, Maxamed Xasan Ibraahim, Ayaan Daahir Cashuur, Cabdi Maxamed Aadan ‘Rubax’, and Axmed ‘Langadhe’. Nathalie Peutz invited me to join her on a trip to Ceerigaabo in August 2002, which proved eye-opening for my research. Maxamuud ‘Baader Meinhof’ was the first one to tell me about Dhulba- hante lands in a way that compelled me to travel there. My perspective on the developments in Somaliland, Puntland, and the contested border- lands has been improved by my discussions with Maxamed Siciid ‘Gees’, Abdi Yuusuf Du’aale ‘Boobe’, Maxamed ‘Brawaani’, Faduma Jibril, Ulf Terlinden, Marleen Renders, and Nimo Ilhan-Ali. In more general terms, occasional conversations with John Drysdale and the late Ioan M. Lewis added some of the important insights into northern Somali affairs reflected in parts of my book. The late Virginia Luling was a key partner on Somali matters and gave assistance where needed in her unpretentious way. Guenther Schlee generously supported two to three years of research and commented on parts of the manuscript. Cedric Barnes, Aaden Yusuf Abokor, and Mark Bradbury reviewed the full manuscript—I am indebted to their comments and criticism, although I did not take all of their recommendations on board. Fergus Nicoll helped to clarify the language and thought of the first draft. Peter Fry and Catherine Bond thoroughly edited the language of the second and third drafts. I am grateful to John Ryle for having encouraged me to turn my dispersed borderland experiences into this book. The institutions that provided support for the research of this book were: the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle/ 5 6 between soMaliland and puntland Saale, Germany; the Academy for Peace and Development in Hargeysa, Somaliland; the Nugaal University in Laascaanood, Somaliland; the Rift Valley Institute in Nairobi, Kenya; the Department for International Development in Nairobi, Kenya; and the National Defence University in Washington, USA. All remaining errors are certainly mine. I wish to dedicate this book to the memory of Garaad Cabdulaahi Garaad Soofe, who died towards the end of the holy month of Ramadan on 20 July 2014. This was when I was reworking the manuscript. I had the pleasure of meeting Garaad Cabdulaahi in Buuhoodle in early 2004, and thought him a true, traditional leader of his people. He did not tire of searching for settlements for conflicts—large and small—concerning his people and other peoples living in the contested borderlands between Somaliland and Puntland. Soomaalidu waxay tiraahdaa: Garaad waa nin rag yaqaan, rabi yaqaan iyo run yaqaan. Garaad Cabdulaahi garaad run ah buu ahaa! (Somalis have said, ‘a garaad is a man who knows men, knows God, and knows the truth’. Garaad Cabdulaahi was a true garaad!) Note on transliteration Somali place and personal names in this text follow Somali orthography: ayn), ‘x’ denotes) ع the Latin ‘c’ stands for a sound close to the Arabic ha), while long vowels are indicated by doubling) ح the strongly aspirated them, as in Laascaanood or Faarax. Because other sources use other conventions, the reader will sometimes find other forms of place names and personal names in the text, often where direct citations are used or in references. Somali authors are usually referred to in the bibliography under their first name, as in the case of ‘Ahmed Yusuf Farah’. With Somali names, the first name refers to the person himself or herself, the second to their father, and the third to the paternal grandfather. If Somali authors have themselves published under a particular last name—their father’s or their grandfather’s name, as in the case of ‘Samatar, Said S.’—this last name is used in the bibliography for listing. Names in inverted commas, such as Maxamed Xaaji Ibraahim ‘Cigaal’, indicate nicknames, but alone or with a title (‘President Cigaal’ or Sheekh Attam’), the inverted commas are not used. Somalis, particu- larly Somali men, are frequently better known by their nicknames than by their formal names (Somalis sometimes say that a nickname is the ‘far-reaching name’, magac dheer). Some nicknames are inherited from the father or other ancestors. Nicknames frequently have a rather prosaic meaning, referring to physical features like ‘tall’, ‘big ears’, or ‘lame leg’; these are ‘mass nicknames’ which, in combination with a first name and sometimes a place of residence (such as Cabdi ‘Yere’ from Buuhoodle) suffice to specify an individual.