Ceerigaabo | |
|---|---|
City | |
| Erigavo | |
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 Local council Seal of Erigavo | |
  Ceerigaabo Location in Somaliland Show map of Sanaag Ceerigaabo Ceerigaabo (Somaliland) Show map of Somaliland | |
| Coordinates:10°37′05″N047°22′12″E / 10.61806°N 47.37000°E /10.61806; 47.37000 | |
| Country |  Somaliland |
| Region | Sanaag |
| District | Erigavo District |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ismail Haji Nour[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 26,000 km2 (10,000 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 2,000 meter m (6,560 feet ft) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
• Total | 180,000 |
| • Rank | 5th |
| • Density | 180,000/km2 (500,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
| Area code | +252 |
Erigavo (Somali:Ceerigaabo,Arabic:عيرجابو), also spelled asErigabo, is the capital and largest city of theSanaag region ofSomaliland.[3]
The nameCeerigaabo is made up of two parts:Ceeri which describes a place water collects, andgaabo (gaaban), meaning short or low.[4]Ceeri can also be an abbreviation ofceeriyaan, the Somali word for mist/fog. The nameCeerigaabo may refer to low-hanging mist covering the city.[4]
The Erigavo settlement is several centuries old. The surrounding area was supposedly built by theMadigan Dir.[5] Modern Erigavo was founded by the Musa Ismail sub-clan of theHabr Yunis as a home well for passing nomads and caravans.[6] The general area is noted for its numerous historical tombs, where variousSomali clan patriarchs are buried.[7]
The 1945 Sheikh Bashir Rebellion was a rebellion waged by tribesmen of theHabr Je'lo clan in the cities ofBurao and Erigavo in the formerBritish Somaliland protectorate against British authorities in July 1945 led bySheikh Bashir, aSomali religious leader.[8]
On July the 2nd, Sheikh Bashir collected 25 of his followers in the town ofWadamago and transported them on a lorry to the vicinity ofBurao, where he distributed arms to half of his followers. On the evening of July the 3rd the group entered Burao and opened fire on the police guard of the central prison in the city, which was filled with prisoners arrested for previous demonstrations. The group also attacked the house of the district commissioner ofBurao District, Major Chambers, resulting in the death of Major Chamber's police guard before escaping to Bur Dhab, a strategic mountain south-east of Burao, where Sheikh Bashir's small unit occupied a fort and took up a defensive position in anticipation of a British counterattack.[9]
The British campaign against Sheikh Bashir's troops proved abortive after several defeats as his forces kept moving from place to place and avoiding any permanent location. No sooner had the expedition left the area, than the news traveled fast among the Somali nomads across the plain. The war had exposed the British administration to humiliation. The government came to a conclusion that another expedition against him would be useless; that they must build a railway, make roads and effectively occupy the whole of the protectorate, or else abandon the interior completely. The latter course was decided upon, and during the first months of 1945, the advance posts were withdrawn and the British administration confined to the coast town ofBerbera.[10]
Sheikh Bashir solved many disputes among the tribes in the vicinity, which kept them from raiding each other. He was generally thought to settle disputes through the use of IslamicSharia and gathered around him a strong following.[11]
Sheikh Bashir sent a message to religious figures in the town of Erigavo and called on them to revolt and join the rebellion he led. The religious leaders as well as the people of Erigavo heeded his call, and mobilized a substantial number of people in Erigavo armed with rifles and spears and staged a revolt. The British authorities responded rapidly and severely, sending reinforcements to the town and opening fire on the armed mobs in two "local actions" as well as arresting minor religious leaders in the town.[12]
The British administration recruitedIndian andSouth African troops, led by police general James David, to fight against Sheikh Bashir and had intelligence plans to capture him alive. The British authorities mobilized a police force, and eventually on 7 July found Sheikh Bashir and his unit in defensive positions behind their fortifications in the mountains of Bur Dhab. After clashes Sheikh Bashir and his second-in-command, Alin Yusuf Ali, nicknamed Qaybdiid, were killed. A third rebel was wounded and was captured along with two other rebels. The rest fled the fortifications and dispersed. On the British side the police general leading the British troops as well as a number of Indian and South African troops perished in the clashes, and a policeman was injured.
Despite the death of Sheikh Bashir and his followers resistance against British authorities continued in Somaliland, especially in Erigavo where his death stirred further resistance in the town and the town ofBadhan and lead to attacks on British colonial troops throughout the district and the seizing of arms from the rural constabulary.[13]
In May 2024, a rebellion broke out in Erigavo. Unable to put down the incident with local police alone, the 3rd Division of the National Army assisted and over the course of three nights put down it. More than 50 youths were arrested. Sanaag Regional Governor Ahmed Abdi Muse warned that the arrested youths would be brought to justice, but that their parents should not complain.[14][15][16]
10 kilometres or 6.2 miles to the north of the town are the remains of ajuniper forest,[17] running along the edge of theescarpment overlooking theGulf of Aden. The escarpment is approximately 2,000 metres or 6,560 feet above sea level, where the road from Erigavo drops down to the coast. 2 kilometres or 1.2 miles to the west, it rises to the highest point in Somaliland,Shimbiris. A popular local attraction, the summit sits at an elevation of about 2,470 metres or 8,100 feet above sea level. A road also leads up from Erigavo to Daallo mountain. At the mountain's peak, the sea can be observed in addition to the ancient town of Hiis situated nearby.
Erigavo is also home to many animal and plant species. Wildlife native to the area includeleopard,spotted hyena,striped hyena,black-backed jackal,gerenuk,hamadryas baboon,desert warthog,honey badger,Somali ostrich and theWarsangli linnet.
Under theKöppen climate classification, Erigavo features a mild version of thesemi-arid climate. The city generally sees equable temperatures year round, with some of the mildest weather in all of Somaliland. Despite its location in the tropics, due to the high altitude, temperatures rarely exceed 30 °C or 86 °F. Nights are frequently cool during the summer season and cold during the winter. This is a trait shared with very few places in the world; notable locations with similar climate areSana'a inYemen orArequipa inPeru. The city receives on average under 450 millimetres or 18 inches of rain annually. Average monthly temperatures range from 14.3 °C or 57.7 °F in the month of December to 19.7 °C or 67.5 °F in the month of July. Absolute minimum temperatures sometimes touch or cross 0 °C or 32 °F.
| Climate data for Erigavo, Somaliland | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 30.5 (86.9) | 33.5 (92.3) | 32.0 (89.6) | 33.5 (92.3) | 31.5 (88.7) | 30.5 (86.9) | 30.5 (86.9) | 30.0 (86.0) | 30.0 (86.0) | 29.5 (85.1) | 29.5 (85.1) | 28.0 (82.4) | 33.5 (92.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 24.5 (76.1) | 25.5 (77.9) | 25.5 (77.9) | 26.5 (79.7) | 26.5 (79.7) | 26.0 (78.8) | 26.0 (78.8) | 26.0 (78.8) | 25.5 (77.9) | 25.0 (77.0) | 24.0 (75.2) | 23.5 (74.3) | 25.5 (77.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 15.0 (59.0) | 16.0 (60.8) | 17.0 (62.6) | 18.0 (64.4) | 19.0 (66.2) | 19.5 (67.1) | 19.5 (67.1) | 19.5 (67.1) | 18.5 (65.3) | 16.5 (61.7) | 15.5 (59.9) | 14.5 (58.1) | 17.5 (63.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) | 7.0 (44.6) | 8.5 (47.3) | 10.0 (50.0) | 11.5 (52.7) | 13.0 (55.4) | 13.5 (56.3) | 13.5 (56.3) | 11.5 (52.7) | 8.5 (47.3) | 7.0 (44.6) | 5.5 (41.9) | 9.5 (49.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −3.5 (25.7) | 0.5 (32.9) | 0.5 (32.9) | 2.0 (35.6) | 1.5 (34.7) | 4.0 (39.2) | 5.0 (41.0) | 4.5 (40.1) | 3.0 (37.4) | 0.0 (32.0) | −3.0 (26.6) | −3.5 (25.7) | −3.5 (25.7) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 18 (0.7) | 13 (0.5) | 33 (1.3) | 38 (1.5) | 81 (3.2) | 64 (2.5) | 10 (0.4) | 41 (1.6) | 114 (4.5) | 8 (0.3) | 13 (0.5) | 2 (0.1) | 435 (17.1) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 56 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%)(at 14:00) | 34 | 35 | 42 | 56 | 51 | 48 | 43 | 49 | 55 | 43 | 34 | 37 | 44 |
| Source:Deutscher Wetterdienst (precipitation 1925-1950)[18] | |||||||||||||
In 1997, Matt Bryden said the majority of the population isHabr Yunis and theHabr Je'lo clans of theIsaaq.[19]
In 2009, Photographer & Educator Chantal Heijnen said that Erigavo has an estimated population of 180,000.[2]
In 2013, theObservatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention reported that Erigavo has a population of about 30,000, and that there are four main clans living there,Habr Je'lo,Habar Yoonis,Warsangali, andDhulbahante, with a small number of other clans.[20]
Higher learning in Erigavo is provided byEast Africa University (EAU), which has one of its six branches in the city.[21] TheSanaag University also offers tertiary courses and degrees, and Gollis university has a branch and many colleges. Queen of Sheba University offers women in Sanaag free degree courses and a limited number of places worldwide in distance mode.
Town affairs are managed by themayor of Erigavo. Taxes are levied and collected by the local town council as of 1999.[3] The town is connected toBurao, capital ofTogdheer region as well as to the rest of the country through theSiilaanyo road.[22]
The city is home to aBoy Scouts organization. Formed in 2005 by the local Sanaag administration, the Scouts partake in various activities, including a 2006 training program on governance, peace and leadership.[23]
(Erigaavo) it is where Madigan Dir built their castles, famous still. All around Daryale the splendors of the past are seen.
Yet the region's main city Erigavo was wholly dominated by the Habr Jallo and Habr Yonis.
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