Anglo-Isaaq conflicts

Anglo-Isaaq conflicts
Isaaq soldiers confront british navy
Date 1825–1945 (120 years) Location Somaliland Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
Isaaq Sultanate Habar Awal Habar Yoonis Habar Jeclo | Dervish Movement	British Empire
Commanders and leaders
Farah Guled (1855–1856) Hassan Guled Ou Ali (1922) Madar Hersi (1945) Sheikh Bashir † Alin Yusuf Elmi † | haji Sudi  † Nur Ahmed Aman  †	Captain James Gordon Bremer, Captain W.C. Jervoise (1825–1827) Captain John Hanning Speke (POW) Sir Richard Burton (WIA) Lieutenant Storyan † (1855) Governor Geoffrey Archer, Captain Allan Gib † Major Chambers † Captain James David † captain Richard corfield  †

The Anglo-Isaaq conflicts were a series of confrontations between British forces and the Isaaq Sultanate and the Isaaq clan in Somaliland from 1825 to 1945. The first of these conflicts occurred in 1825, when a British ship named the Mary Anne was attacked, sacked, and plundered by Isaaq forces in the port city of Berbera. The attack led to a British blockade of the city and subsequent negotiations with the Sultanate. Further incidents occurred in the 1850s, notably with the Attack on British exploring expeditions and the Blockade of Berbera (1855), which were key points of friction between the British and the Isaaq. After the establishment of the British Somaliland Protectorate in 1884, tensions continued between the Isaaq and British authorities. The Isaaq led several rebellions against colonial rule, including the Somaliland campaign,a revolt called upon by Sultan Nur Ahmed Aman the 5th Sultan of the Habr Yunis Sultanate and later also one of the main leaders behind the Somali Dervish movement (1899–1920) along with another Isaaq leader Haji Sudi . Nur Ahmed Aman was the principal agitator rallying the followers of the Kob Fardod Tariqa behind his anti-French Roman Catholic Mission campaign that would become the cause of the Dervish uprising. He assisted in assembling men and arms and hosted the revolting tribesmen in his quarter at Burao in August 1899, declaring the Dervish rebellion. He fought and led the war throughout the early years of the conflict from 1899–1904. He and his brother Geleh Ahmed (Kila Ahmed) were the main signatories of the Dervish peace treaty with the British, Ethiopians and Italian colonial powers on March 5, 1905, known as the Ilig Treaty or the Pestalozza agreement.

Following the end of World War I, British troops once again turned their attention to the disturbances in British Somaliland. The Dervishes had previously defeated British forces at the Battle of Dul Madoba in 1913. Four subsequent British expeditions against Hassan and his soldiers had also failed.

In 1920, British forces launched a final campaign against Hassan's Dervishes. Although the majority of the combat took place in January of the year, British troops had begun preparations for the assault as early as November 1919. The British forces were led by the Royal Air Force and the ground component included the Somaliland Camel Corps. After three weeks of battle, the Dervishes were finally defeated, bringing an effective end to their 20-year resistance.

Further Isaaq resistance continued leading up to the 1922 Burao Tax Revolt, a significant uprising against unfair taxation, and the 1945 Sheikh Bashir Rebellion, which was motivated by political and religious grievances.

These conflicts, though interspersed with treaties and agreements, ultimately resulted in the incorporation of Isaaq territories into British Somaliland, shaping the political landscape of the region for decades.

See also

• Isaaq Sultanate
• British Somaliland
• History of Somaliland