Sahil (, ) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in northern

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

with the port city of

Berbera Berbera (; , ) is the capital of the Sahil, Somaliland, Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country, located approximately 160 km from the national capital, Hargeisa. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of t ...

as its capital. It was separated from

Woqooyi Galbeed Marodi Jeh (, ), formerly known as Woqooyi Galbeed (lit. ''North West'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in western Somaliland. It is the most populous region of the country. It is bordered by Awdal to the west, Sahil to the north, To ...

and became a province in 1991. In 1998, the Sheikh District of

Togdheer Togdheer (, ) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in central Somaliland. Togdheer is bordered by Maroodi Jeex to the west, Sahil, Somaliland, Saaxil to the north, Sanaag to the northeast, Sool, Somalia ...

was incorporated into Sahil region. The region has a long coastline facing the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

to the north. Sahil borders

Awdal Awdal (, ) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in western Somaliland. It was separated from Woqooyi Galbeed and became a province in 1984 and is the most northwesterly province of Somaliland. To the e ...

to the northwest,

Maroodi Jeex Marodi Jeh (, ), formerly known as Woqooyi Galbeed (lit. ''North West'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in western Somaliland. It is the most populous region of the country. It is bordered by Awdal to the west, Sahil to the north, To ...

to the southwest,

to the south and

Sanaag Sanag (, ) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in north eastern Somaliland.Regions of Somalia
Sa ...

to the east.

History

Formerly known as the Berbera District, it was one of six districts that made up the

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinia (Italian Ethiopia from 1936 ...

protectorate. In 1960, the then independent

State of Somaliland Somaliland, officially the State of Somaliland (), was an independent country in the territory of the present-day unilaterally declared Republic of Somaliland, which regards itself as its legal successor. It existed on the territory of former ...

merged with Italian Somaliland to form the

Somali Republic The Somali Republic (; ; ) was formed by the union of the Trust Territory of Somaliland (formerly Italian Somaliland) and the State of Somaliland (formerly British Somaliland). A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa Mohamud and Muhammad ...

. By 1964, the then Berbera District merged with the Borama district (now

) 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

region. Awdal was carved out of the western parts of Woqooyi Galbeed region in June 1984. 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 The Government of the Republic of Somaliland (JSL) (, ) is the central government of Somaliland. The Government of Somaliland consists of legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each of which functions independently from the others. T ...

established Sahil region. In 1998, the Sheikh District was incorporated from

. Under the Local Autonomy Act of 2002, it was positioned as one of the six regions that make up Somaliland. The

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.

Districts

The regional capital of the Sahil region is the port city of

. The region is further divided into the following two districts:

Demographics

According to the Somaliland Ministry of National Planning Sahil had a population of 149,244 in 1997. The region is inhabited by the

Issa Musse The Isamusa or Isa Musa (, , (Full Name: ''’Isa ibn Musa ibn Zubayr ibn Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ash- Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad''), is a prominent Somali clan which is part of the Isaaq family clan. The Isa Musa traditionally consists of coasta ...

sub-clan of the

Habr Awal The Habr Awal, alternately known as the Zubeyr Awal (, , Full Name: '' Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ash-Ishaaq bin Ahmed, Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad)'' is one of the largest subclans of the wider Isaaq clan family, and is further divided into eight su ...

, the

Habr Yunis The Habar Yoonis (, full Nasab: '' Said ibn Al-Qādhī Ismā'īl ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad'') alternatively spelled as Habr Yunis is a major clan part of the Garhajis . As descendants of Ismail bin Ishaaq bin Ahmed, Sheikh Isaaq, it ...

, primarily belonging to the Musa Abdallah branch, the

Habr Je'lo The Habr Je'lo (), , Full Name: ''Mūsa ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad,'' historically known as the Habr Toljaala () is a major Northern Somali clan of the wider Isaaq family. Its members form the Habr Habusheed () confederation along with t ...

as well as the Abdallah

Arap The Arap or Arab (, , Full Name: ''Muḥammad ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad bin al-Ḥusayn al-Hāshimīy'') clan is a major Northern Somali clan of the wider Isaaq clan family. The Arap predominantly live on the middle and southwest side ...

, all clans of the wider

Isaaq The Isaaq (, , ''Banu Ishaq'') is a major Somali clans, Somali clan. It is one of the largest Somali clan families in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. The Isaaq people claim in a traditional legend ...

clan-family.

Map

Somaliland-Sahil Region.svg

References

Regions of Somaliland Populated places in Sahil, Somaliland {{Somaliland-geo-stub

History

Districts

Demographics

Map

See also

References