Warsangali (Warsangeli, Harti, Darod)

Name and family tree

The Warsangali are a clan of the Harti, part of the Darod. The name is also written Warsangeli and Warsengeli. Wikipedia also calls them the Mohamoud Harti (Wikipedia, Warsangali, backup).

See the Darod tree.

Main branches

Abbink lists these Warsangeli groups (Abbink 2009, p. 23):

Wikipedia gives a longer line. It runs from Mohamoud Ahmed through Koge and Garaad Dhidhin to Ogeyslabe, Dubays and Cumar. Under Cumar it names Nuux Cumar and others, down to the Reer Xaaji and the Bah Ogeyslabe, Bah Idoor and Bah Majeerteen (Wikipedia, Warsangali, backup). It says "the structures of the clans and sub clans are not clearly agreed upon" (same source).

ACLED codes sub-groups such as Adan Siciid, Cawramale, Bihi-dor, Dubays, Husen, Muhumud, Nuux Cumar and Ogayslabeh. It also codes Reer Fatax, Reer Garaad, Reer Haji, Reer Salah, Reer Yusuf, Ugas Labe and Garabsare (ACLED 2025).

Where they live

No census counts Somalis by clan. ACCORD notes that Somalis often claim more members than their groups have, "in order to demonstrate strength" (ACCORD, Clans in Somalia, 2009, p. 11).

ACCORD says the Warsangeli "mainly live within the borders of Somaliland" (ACCORD 2009, p. 12). Sanaag is claimed by both Somaliland and Puntland. See Sanaag and Bari.

History on record

• 1500s. Wikipedia quotes the Futuh al-Habasha on a Harti force "from the people of Mait" in the wars of Imam Ahmad (Wikipedia, Warsangali, backup). See Futuh al-Habasha.
• 1848. It says the traveller C. J. Cruttenden wrote that Warsangali and Majeerteen lands were the most valuable for trade on that coast (same source).
• Sultanate. Their Gerad line ruled from Laasqoray. See the Warsangali sultanate.
• 1920. Wikipedia says Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire was exiled by the British to the Seychelles (same source). See the Dervish movement.
• 1940s and 1950s. It says Warsangali leaders formed the United Somali Party (same source).
• 2000s. It says Maakhir, a regional administration in eastern Sanaag, was mainly Warsangali. It lists Jibril Ali Salad as its president from 2006 to 2009 (same source).
• Later figures. Wikipedia lists the writer Farah Awl, Fatima Jibrell and Omar Fateh among Warsangali people (same source).

Elders and customary law

Senior Somali clan leaders carry titles such as suldaan, ugaas or issim. Their role is "mainly judicial and representative" (UK Home Office, CPIN Somalia: clans, 2019, quoting EASO 2014).

The Warsangali sultan comes from the Gerad line. Wikipedia calls Mohamoud Ali Shire the 24th sultan (Wikipedia, Warsangali, backup). The EASO quotes an expert that Warsengeli elders "tend to defuse potential conflict spirals" in the area claimed by both Somaliland and Puntland (EASO 2021). See xeer, Somali customary law.

In recent conflict records

The EUAA lists Warsangeli disputes among Warsangeli sub-clans in Ceerigaabo and Laasqoray (EUAA Country Focus 2025, section 1.5.1). It also records "conflict between the Isaaq and Warsangeli over mining rights". It says that in January 2025, Warsangeli militias had mobilised outside Ceerigaabo (EUAA 2025, Sanaag).

Earlier, the EASO listed a land dispute between the Dubays and Reer Xaaji. It says this "never developed into a large scale conflict thanks to the mediation of Warsengeli clan elders" (EASO 2021). See clan conflicts, district by district.

Where sources differ

• Where they live. ACCORD places them mainly inside Somaliland's borders. The EASO notes that most of their towns side with Puntland.
• Sections. Abbink lists about 25 groups. Wikipedia gives a different, deeper line and says the tree is not agreed.
• Sultanate age. Wikipedia quotes a Seychelles newspaper that the sultanate is six hundred years old. The Wikipedia sultanate page gives 1613 for a central state. British accounts of it begin in the 1840s; see the Warsangali sultanate.

Read more

• Darod
• The Darod tree
• The Warsangali sultanate
• Sanaag