Halin () is a town in the

Sool Sool (, ) is a disputed administrative region (gobol). It borders Togdheer to the west, Sanaag to the north, Ethiopia to the south and Nugal, Bari to the east. Its capital city is Las Anod. The region is disputed by the self-declared Republic o ...

region of

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. It was the headquarters of the Dervish movement during 1903–1904.

Government

Traditional councils of elders and village assemblies are responsible for administration, and village chiefs are also nominated by councils of elders and assemblies. No elections are held. The legal system is customary law based on

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

Demographics

The town is inhabited by the Dhulbahante clan of the Harti sub-division of

Darod The Darod (, ) is a Somali clan. The forefather of this clan is Sheikh Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, more commonly known as Darod. The clan primarily settles the apex of the Horn of Africa and its peripheries, the Somali hinterlands adjacent ...

. It is primarily settled by the

Nur Ahmed Nur Ahmed (born 1928), also known as Tin Maung, was a Burmese Rohingya legislator, health worker and activist. He was a CEC member of the National Democratic Party for Human Rights. He was elected to the Parliament of Myanmar in 1990. Early lif ...

sub-lineage of the Ugadhyahan Siyad-Mohamoud Garad sub-division of the Dhulbahante.

Environment

Unusually for the Sool region, Halin has a year-round river. Annual precipitation is around 100 to 200 millimeters and is subject to frequent droughts. A legume called Garanwaa, ''

Prosopis juliflora ''Neltuma juliflora '' (, ''Cuji'' in Venezuela, ''Trupillo'' in Colombia, ''Aippia'' in the Wayuunaiki language and long-thorn kiawe in Hawaii), formerly ''Prosopis juliflora'', is a shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae, a kind of mesquit ...

'', is under threat as an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

Economic

In the past,

date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

, and other crops were cultivated and cattle were raised, but the legume Garanwaa, an invasive species, has become a weed, and both crops and pastures have suffered greatly. Mainly shipped to

Qardho Qardho (, ), also known as Gardo, is a city in the northeastern Bari region of Somalia, a district within the autonomous state of Puntland. History Until Somalia's Independence Qardho is one of a series of ancient settlements in northern Somalia. ...

Garowe Garowe (, ,Puntland Puntland is an autonomous state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of Somalia's current governing administration. It was formed in 1998, and was a federal member state of Somalia from its fou ...

, as well as to Somaliland and central Somalia. According to 2019 reports, tomatoes, onions, peppers, lettuce, and cabbage are grown. Residents responding to the report had a monthly income of $160.

Education

The village has a primary and intermediate school, where about 40 percent of the students are women. It is funded by the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

. There is no secondary school in the village, and most families complete their education in intermediate school because they do not have the money to send their children to secondary school in the city.

Medical

There are no medical facilities in the village, the closest being the hospital in

Las Anod Las Anod (; ) is the administrative capital of the Sool region, currently controlled by Khatumo State forces aligned with Somalia. Territorial dispute The city is disputed by Puntland and Somaliland. The former bases its claim due to the kins ...

. Pregnant women in particular are often at risk.

History

Harin is an old settlement and was one of the strongholds of

Mohammed Abdullah Hassan Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...

when he revolted against the British in the early 20th century. From 1963 until the beginning of the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

(c. 1990), there was a

agricultural cooperative and the administrative structure was more developed than in surrounding pastoral villages. 800-100 kg of sugar was produced annually in the 1980s. In December 2013, residents of Halin were evacuated to avoid fighting between the

Khatumo State SSC-Khaatumo (), officially known as the SSC-Khaatumo State of Somalia (), is a federal member state in northern Somalia, with its capital in Las Anod. It includes parts of the Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions (combined under the acronym "SSC") ...

and Somaliland. The drought that occurred from 2015 to 2017 caused significant damage. In August 2017, Somaliland election officials were injured during a visit to the Halin district. In May 2019, heavy rains caused extensive damage to the Harin district.

References

{{reflist Populated places in Sool, Somaliland