# Badhan (Baran)

> Badhan (Baran): highland town in eastern Sanaag claimed by Somaliland and Puntland, run in practice by Puntland.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/regions/badhan/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Where it is

Badhan lies in eastern [Sanaag](/en/regions/sanaag/) at about 10.71°N, 48.33°E and 1,095 m above sea level ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q799021)). It sits on the road between the coastal town of Las Khorey and Erigavo, and roads are being built to link it with El Dahir and from there to the [Bosaso](/en/regions/bari/)–Qardho–Garowe highway ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)).

## Who runs it

Eastern Sanaag is claimed by both [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/) and [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/). Badhan has been run in practice by Puntland for many years, while Somaliland keeps a claim and has named its own mayor and governor for the town ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag); [Hoehne, *Between Somaliland and Puntland*, Rift Valley Institute 2015](https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Between%20Somaliland%20and%20Puntland%20by%20Markus%20Hoehne%20-%20RVI%20Contested%20Borderlands%20(2015)%20(1).pdf)).

- **Early 2000s:** Somaliland named a "Badhan" region, while Puntland announced a [Haylan](/en/regions/dhahar/) region ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)).
- **2007 to 2009:** a Warsangali movement set up the [Maakhir](/en/history/warsangali-sultanate/) state ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)).
- **September 2019:** Puntland forces arrested Somaliland's deputy governor for Badhan ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)).
- **January 2021:** Puntland sent troops to stop Somaliland voter registration in the district ([MENAFN](https://menafn.com/1101491037/Somalias-Puntland-Army-Takes-Over-Badhan-to-Block-Somaliland-Parliamentary-Municipal-Elections)).
- **25 May 2023:** Puntland held local council elections in the town; the council elects the mayor ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)).

## People and work

UrbanStats estimates the population at about 65,500 from satellite images ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)). Most people in and around Badhan are Warsangali, part of the Harti Darod, and the town hosts Warsangali clan meetings ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)). Herding is the main work. In droughts herders move near water and water prices rise; in November 2005 [BBC Somali](/en/society/media-in-somalia/) reported very high water prices in the district ([BBC Somali, 2005](https://www.bbc.com/somali/news/story/2005/11/051116_biyo)). A 2019 nutrition survey covered the district ([Badhan SMART survey 2019](https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205302/https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/assessments/badhan_smart_survey_2019_final_report.pdf)).

## History

- Before colonial rule the area was part of the Warsangali Sultanate ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)).
- In the 1910s the Dervish forces of [Mohammed Abdullah Hassan](/en/people/sayid-maxamed-cabdulle-xasan/) built a fort at Badhan ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag); [Marcus, appraisal of the Dervish state](https://wardheernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/An-appraisal-of-the-%E2%80%98Dervish-state%E2%80%99_Marcus.pdf)).
- In 1933 drought led the British to open a relief camp at Badhan for 2,500 to 3,000 people. In 1945 herders from Zeila to Badhan protested against anti-locust campaigns that used poisoned bait ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)).
- In the 1970s floods led the [Siad Barre](/en/people/siad-barre/) government to move the people of Xubeera to Badhan, and the 1974–75 Dabadheer drought brought relief operations to the area ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)).
- Warsangali areas around Badhan saw little fighting in the 1980s. Warsangali leaders took part in the conferences that founded Puntland in 1998 ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)).

## University and media

The Somali National University has a branch in Badhan, paid for partly by a $6 million grant from the [Kuwait](/en/diaspora/kuwait/) Fund for Arab Economic Development to the federal government, with building managed by Puntland ([Kuwait Fund](https://kuwait-fund.org/en/web/kfund/current-news-events/-/asset_publisher/8Vn82dPrFd8B/content/signature-of-grant-agreements-in-the-federal-republic-of-somalia)). It announced its first programmes and admissions in September 2023 ([Radio Muqdisho](https://www.radiomuqdisho.net/arday-u-fadhiisatay-imtixaanka-aqbalaadda-ee-jaamacadda-ummadda-faraceeda-puntland-sawirro/)). Radio Daljir, Puntland State TV and [SBC TV](/en/economy/somali-media-companies/) work in the town ([Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)).

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Badhan, Sanaag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badhan,_Sanaag)
- [Wikidata Q799021](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q799021)
- [Markus Hoehne, *Between Somaliland and Puntland*, Rift Valley Institute, 2015](https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Between%20Somaliland%20and%20Puntland%20by%20Markus%20Hoehne%20-%20RVI%20Contested%20Borderlands%20(2015)%20(1).pdf)
- [Kuwait Fund grant agreements with Somalia](https://kuwait-fund.org/en/web/kfund/current-news-events/-/asset_publisher/8Vn82dPrFd8B/content/signature-of-grant-agreements-in-the-federal-republic-of-somalia)
- [Badhan SMART nutrition survey, 2019](https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205302/https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/assessments/badhan_smart_survey_2019_final_report.pdf)

---
I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.