Sahil (Somali: Saaxil, Arabic: ساحل) is an administrative region (gobol) in northern Somaliland with the port city of Berbera as its capital. It was separated from Woqooyi Galbeed and became a province in 1991. In 1998, the Sheikh District of Togdheer was incorporated into Sahil region.[1] The region has a long coastline facing the Gulf of Aden to the north. Sahil borders Awdal to the northwest, Maroodi Jeex to the southwest, Togdheer to the south and Sanaag to the east.
Sahil
| |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location in Somaliland | |
| Country |  Somaliland |
| Administrative centre | Berbera |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Cali Cabdi Cabdillaahi Faarax |
| Area | |
• Total | 13,930 km2 (5,380 sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
History
editFormerly known as the Berbera District, it was one of six districts that made up the British Somaliland protectorate. In 1960, the then independent State of Somaliland merged with Italian Somaliland to form the Somali Republic. By 1964, the then Berbera District merged with the Borama district (now Awdal) and the Hargeisa district (now Maroodi Jeh) to form the Woqooyi Galbeed region (literally North West, also known as Hargeisa region).
During the period from 1968 to 1982, parts of the district were incorporated into Togdheer region. Awdal was carved out of the western parts of Woqooyi Galbeed region in June 1984.[2] However, Sahil was the only of the six former British territories to be rebuilt during the Somali government's reign.
When the Somali Civil War broke out, the former British territory declared the revival of the pre-independent state of Somaliland. In December 1989, the Somaliland government established Sahil region. In 1998, the Sheikh District was incorporated from Togdheer. Under the Local Autonomy Act of 2002, it was positioned as one of the six regions that make up Somaliland.[3]
The Somaliland was reorganized on March 22, 2008, and the territory of Sahil was changed. However, a new local government law came into force on January 4, 2020, and the territory was restored.[4]
Districts
edit
The regional capital of the Sahil region is the port city of Berbera. The region is further divided into the following two districts:[5]
| District | Grade | Capital | Comments | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berbera | A | Berbera | Regional capital | .svg)
|
| Sheikh | C | Sheikh | .svg)
|
Demographics
editAccording to the Somaliland Ministry of National Planning Sahil had a population of 149,244 in 1997.[6]
The region is inhabited by the Issa Musse sub-clan of the Habr Awal,[7] the Habr Yunis, primarily belonging to the Musa Abdallah branch[8] as well as the Habr Je'lo, all clans of the wider Isaaq clan-family.[9]
Map
edit- Map of Sahil Region
-
See also
edit- Administrative divisions of Somaliland
- Regions of Somaliland
- Districts of Somaliland
- Somalia–Somaliland border
References
edit- ^ "Local Government Law".
- ^ "Somalia Regions".
- ^ "Local Government Law".
- ^ "Wax-ka-beddelka iyo Kaabista Xeerka Ismaamulka Gobolladda iyo Degmooyinka, Xeer Lr. 23/2019" (PDF). Somaliland Law.
- ^ "Development plan" (PDF). slministryofplanning.org. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ United Nations Office for Somalia, (UNDOS) (1997). "WAQOOYI GALBEED AND SAHIL". Archived from the original on 2001-06-30.
- ^ Center for Creative Solutions (May 31, 2004), Ruin and Renewal: The Story of Somaliland, Hargeisa: Center for Creative Solutions, archived from the original on April 8, 2011, retrieved September 21, 2010,
The 'Iise Muuse clan for whom Berbera and its environs are their traditional area of settlement saw it differently. Retrieved on 2011-12-15.
- ^ Lewis, I. M. (3 February 2017). I.M Lewis : peoples of the Horn of Africa. Routledge. ISBN 9781315308173.
- ^ Kluijver, Robert. "KYD3 - Politics in Berbera". Politics and Art from the Edge. Archived from the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
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