Hargeisa is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a de facto sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also the regional capital of the Maroodi Jeex region of Somaliland.
Burao, also spelt Bur'o or Bur'ao, is the capital of the Togdheer region and the second largest city in Somaliland. Burao was the site of the declaration of an independent Somaliland on 18 May 1991.
Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud, known by his nickname Silanyo, was a Somaliland politician who served as the President of Somaliland from 2010 to 2017. He was a long-time member of the government in Mogadishu, having served as Minister of Commerce of Somalia in the 1960s, and among other Cabinet positions. During the 1980s, he also served as the Chairman of the Somali National Movement.
The regions of Somaliland is divided into six administrative regions, Awdal, Sahil, Maroodi-Jeeh, Togdheer, Sanaag and Sool. These are in turn subdivided into twenty-two districts. Regions of Somaliland are the primary geographical divisions through which Somaliland is administered. A distinction is made between districts of grades A, B, C and D, with the classification being based on population, area, economy and production.
The Somali National Movement was one of the first and most important organized guerilla groups and Mujahideen groups that opposed the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 1990s, as well as being the main anti-government faction during the Somaliland War of Independence. The organisation was founded in London, England, on April 6, 1981 by Hassan Isse Jama, Hassan Adan Wadadid, and Ahmed Mohamed Gulaid and other former Somali diplomats, who stated that initially the group's purpose was to overthrow the Siad Barre regime.
The Somali Rebellion was the start of the Somali Civil War that began in the 1970s and resulted in the collapse of the Somali Democratic Republic in 1991. The rebellion effectively began in 1978 following a failed coup d’état and President Siad Barre began using his special forces, the "Red Berets", to attack clan-based dissident groups opposed to his regime. Backed by Ethiopia, the two earliest rebel factions, the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) and the Somali National Movement (SNM) began attacks during the against government forces during the early 1980s.
Over the course of the Somali Civil War, there have been many revolutionary movements and militia groups run by competing rebel leaders which have held de facto control over vast areas within Somalia.
Garad Jama Garad Ali is the 21st supreme traditional clan Sultan (Garaad) of the Dhulbahante. He has significant influence in Somalia's current politics, particularly in Ssc-Khatumo.
General Mohamed Hasan Abdullahi also known as "Jidhif" was a chief of staff of the Somaliland Armed Forces. He hails from the Jibril Abokor, a Sa'ad Musa sub-division of the Habr Awal Isaaq clan. In the 1980s, he joined the Somali National Movement. Before being appointed as the chief of staff, he was head of Mercy Corps in Somaliland.
Musa Bihi Abdi is a Somaliland politician and former military officer who served as the 5th President of Somaliland from 2017 to 2024.
The Hargeisa War Memorial is a monument in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. The memorial was set up to commemorate the Somaliland War of Independence, and is a symbol of struggle for the people of Somaliland.
The Isaaq genocide, also known as the Hargeisa Holocaust, was the systematic, state-sponsored genocide of Isaaq civilians between 1987 and 1989 by the Somali Democratic Republic, under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, during the Somaliland War of Independence. The number of civilian deaths in this massacre is estimated to be between 50,000 and 100,000, according to various sources, whilst local reports estimate the total civilian deaths to be upwards of 200,000 Isaaq civilians. The genocide, which escalated after the Somali National Movement (SNM)'s 1988 Northern Somalia offensive, also included the levelling and complete destruction of the second and third largest cities in the Somali Republic, Hargeisa and Burao, respectively, and had caused up to 500,000 Somalis of the region, primarily of the Isaaq clan, to flee their land and cross the border to Hartasheikh in Ethiopia as refugees in what was described as "one of the fastest and largest forced movements of people recorded in Africa", which resulted in the creation of the world's largest refugee camp then (1988), with another 400,000 being displaced. The scale of destruction led to Hargeisa being known as the 'Dresden of Africa'. The killings happened during the Somali Civil War and have been referred to as a "forgotten genocide".
Events of 2015 in Somaliland.
The Somaliland Peace Process refers to the series of grassroot initiatives that brought peace to Somaliland after the collapse of central government of Somalia. In conjunction with the Somali National Movement, communities in Somaliland negotiated a series of truces to end hostilities and address the grievances between the communities who were often on opposing sides to the Barre regime.
The Somaliland National Army, is the land force and largest branch of the Somaliland Armed Forces is based in the Somaliland capital of Hargeisa. The Somaliland National Army is composed entirely of professionals and volunteers because the army is not mandatory for conscription. Some Somaliland battalions operate near the Puntland border due to a border dispute.
The Somaliland War of Independence was a rebellion waged by the Somali National Movement (SNM) against the ruling military junta in Somalia led by General Siad Barre lasting from its founding on 6 April 1981 and ended on 18 May 1991 when the SNM declared what was then northern Somalia independent as the Republic of Somaliland. The conflict served as the main theater of the larger Somali Rebellion that started in 1978. The conflict was in response to the harsh policies enacted by the Barre regime against the main clan family in Somaliland, the Isaaq, including a declaration of economic warfare on the clan-family. These harsh policies were put into effect shortly after the conclusion of the disastrous Ogaden War in 1978.
The 1988 Hargeisa Burao offensive was a major offensive conducted during the Somaliland War of Independence in May 1988 by the Somali National Movement on the cities of Hargeisa and Burao, then the second and third largest cities of Somalia. The SNM captured Burao on 27 May within two hours, while the SNM entered Hargeisa on 29 May, overrunning most of the city apart from its airport by 1 June. During the offensive the Somali National Army committed gross human rights violations, including attacking the civilian population using heavy artillery and tanks.
The Burco-Duuray offensive was a confrontation during the Somaliland War of Independence, fought on 17 October 1984 between the Somali National Movement and the Somali National Army near Burco-duuray in the Jarar Zone of Ethiopia. The SNM, led by Mohammed Hashi Lihle, launched an offensive with around 400 fighters against a heavily armed SNA garrison of 1,000 soldiers and 70 technical vehicles. Despite being outnumbered, the SNM achieved a decisive victory, killing 170 SNA troops and destroying 17 vehicles, though they lost 27 fighters, including their commander.
The Battle of Hargeisa occurred on 31 May 1988 during the Somaliland War of Independence, when the Somali National Movement launched a surprise attack on Hargeisa, a major city in Somaliland.
The Jazeera Beach Massacre was a mass execution that occurred on 15 July 1989, the day after the Mogadishu riots of July 1989. Government forces known as the Red Berets rounded up 47 Isaaq men at random in Mogadishu and transported them to Jazeera Beach, 20 miles south of the city. Upon arrival, the men, handcuffed and defenseless, were ordered into a sandy gorge where the soldiers executed them by firing point blank. Only one young man survived by feigning death and later escaped to Djibouti, becoming the sole witness to the massacre.
Somalia 
SNM