The Burao conference and Somaliland's declaration, May 1991

In short

In 1991, after the fall of Siad Barre's government, the Somali National Movement (SNM) held the north-west. At a conference in Burao in the spring of 1991, leaders of the north's main clans debated its future, and in May 1991 the SNM announced the Republic of Somaliland, ending, in its view, the 1960 union with the south (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study).

Human Rights Watch wrote at the end of 1992 that the SNM had "unilaterally declared independence in May 1991, to create the Republic of Somaliland, an entity not recognized by any other country" (Human Rights Watch, World Report 1993). The story since then is told in Somalia and Somaliland, 1991 to 2026.

Before the conference

• October 1990. SNM fighters had pushed government forces out of almost all of Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer and Sanaag (Library of Congress).
• End of January 1991. The SNM took the remaining garrisons at Berbera, Burao and Hargeisa. It refused to hand control to the new United Somali Congress (USC) government in Mogadishu, and refused to join USC unity talks (same source).
• End of February 1991. An SNM conference "seriously debated" revoking the 1960 act of union (same source).
• Other northern groups. The Somali Democratic Alliance, backed mainly by the Gadabuursi, and the United Somali Front, formed by the Ciise, "felt apprehension at the prospect of SNM control of their areas". There were clashes between the SNM and the USF around Zeila in February (same source).

For the war that came before, see the Isaaq genocide, 1987–1989 and the armed movements, 1978–1991.

The Burao conference

The Library of Congress records (Library of Congress):

• Who came. The SNM "persuaded the leaders of all the north's major clans to attend a conference at Burao in April 1991".
• What it decided. Delegates "passed several resolutions pertaining to the future independence of the north from the south".
• A constitution. It created "a standing committee, carefully balanced in terms of clan representation, to draft a constitution".
• Interim rule. It called for an interim government "until multiparty elections could be held".
• The SNM's role. The SNM Central Committee adopted most of the conference's resolutions as party policy. "Although some SNM leaders opposed secession", it went ahead with plans for an independent state.

The declaration and the first government

• May 1991. The SNM announced the Republic of Somaliland. Its border "roughly paralleled those of the former colony, British Somaliland" (Library of Congress). See British Somaliland, 1884–1960.
• The leaders. SNM Secretary General Abdirahman Ahmed Ali "Tuur" was named president and Hassan Isse Jama vice president. Tuur appointed a 17-member cabinet (same source).
• Its mandate. The SNM called it "an interim government having a mandate to rule pending elections scheduled for 1993" (same source).
• 1991–1992. The interim government made sharia the main law of the republic, chose a flag, promised freedom of the press, free elections and the right to form parties, and "tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to win international recognition" (same source).

The first year

Human Rights Watch reported on 1991 and 1992 (HRW, World Report 1993):

• Rebuilding. In 1991 the government "appeared to be making progress in establishing peace and security", rebuilding infrastructure destroyed in 1988, and encouraging the return of "the 400,000 refugees who had fled to Ethiopia".
• Resources. It "had virtually no resources, and international assistance was slow in coming due to the lack of diplomatic recognition".
• Land mines. Mines in towns and countryside killed and injured "hundreds of people", and killed livestock.
• January 1992. Fighting between two Isaaq sub-clans at Burao "left over 150 dead, and forced tens of thousands to flee".
• March 1992. Fighting broke out in Berbera and spread to Sheikh and Hargeisa. "Most civilians had to flee Berbera."

Who suffered?

• Returning refugees and displaced families in towns destroyed in 1988 (HRW).
• People killed or maimed by land mines, in the hundreds by HRW's count.
• People of Burao and Berbera in the fighting of 1992: over 150 dead at Burao, and most of Berbera's civilians forced out (HRW).
• Communities around Zeila, in clashes between the SNM and the United Somali Front in February 1991 (Library of Congress).

Sources differ

• The date. The Library of Congress gives 17 May 1991 for the announcement. Somaliland marks 18 May as its national day (see Somalia and Somaliland, 1991 to 2026).
• The conference dates. The Library of Congress says the conference met "in April 1991". The declaration followed in May.
• Whether the union could be ended. Somaliland's government holds that the 1960 union was never completed and was revoked in 1991. The federal government and most states hold that Somaliland is part of Somalia under the 1960 union. See independence and union, 26 June to 1 July 1960.
• Support in the north. The Library of Congress records that "some SNM leaders opposed secession", and that non-Isaaq groups feared SNM control. In 2023 Dhulbahante leaders in Las Anod rejected Somaliland's rule (see North Eastern State).

Read the primary sources yourself

• Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study (1993), "Politics of succession": text.
• Human Rights Watch, World Report 1993, Somalia chapter: text.