Sool (Somali: Sool, Arabic: صول) is a disputed administrative region (gobol).[6][7][8] 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 of Somaliland and SSC-Khatumo. The region is partially controlled by both polities.[1]
History
British Somaliland district boundaries from 1944.[9]
From 1944 to 1974, the Sool region was formerly Las Anod district. It was one of three districts under British protection. The other two districts were the Burao and hargeysa districts.[10]
In 1974 most Sool was part of the larger Nugaal region, with its capital at Garowe. It was established as a separate region in 1984 with its capital at Las Anod.[11]
Due to the prolonged conflict between Somaliland and Puntland, many Dhulbahante and Warsangeli living in the region did not recognize the Sool region and eastern Sanaag, as either Somaliland or Puntland.[12] On 5 January 2023, Somaliland forces withdrew from Las Anod after mass civil unrest in the city.[13] On October 19, the government of Somalia recognized the state of SSC-Khaatumo as a federal member.[14] Since the defeat of Somaliland troops in the base in Goojacde, much of Sool has been under the control of SSC-Khatumo.[1][15]
The Eastern part of the Sool region is almost exclusively inhabited by Dhulbahante.[16][17][18][19] Michael Walls reports:
"The residents of Sool overwhelmingly hail from a single clan grouping in the form of the Dhulbahante [...]. Sool boasts a degree of kinship homogeneity that is rare even in the Somali Horn".[20]
The Habr Je'lo clan of the Isaaq clan-family make up the vast majority of the population in western Sool, including the region's second largest town Aynaba,[21] as well as the wider Aynaba District.[22]
^Hohne, Markus V. (2006). "Political identity, emerging state structures and conflict in northern Somalia". Journal of Modern African Studies. 44 (3): 405. doi:10.1017/S0022278X06001820. S2CID54173895.
^Political Orientations and Repertoires of Identification: State and Identity Formation in Northern Somalia, 2011, Markus Hoehne, p. 285, "Schlee (1994 [1989]: 223) confirmed that... Fiqishiini ’."
