Editing Somaliland (section)

=== Anti-colonial resistance ===
==== Burao Tax Revolt and RAF bombing ====
{{main|1922 Burao tax revolt}}
[[File:Captainallangibb.jpg|thumb|Captain Allan Gibb]]
The people of Burao clashed with the British in 1922. They revolted in opposition to a new tax that was imposed upon them, rioting and attacking British government officials. This led to a shootout between the British and Burao residents in which Captain Allan Gibb, a Dervish war veteran and district commissioner, was shot and killed. The British requested Sir [[Winston Churchill]], then [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]], to send troops from [[Aden]] and Air Force bombers Burao the revolting clans' livestock.<ref>Colonial Office, 11 April 1922</ref> The RAF planes arrived at Burao within two days and proceeded to bomb the town with incendiaries, effectively burning the entire settlement to the ground.<ref>The British Empire as a Superpower By Anthony Clayton pp.223</ref><ref>Public Record Office file CO 1069/13 Part 1, by the first officer commanding "B" (Nyasaland) Company SCC.
</ref><ref>The King's African Rifles by H. Moyse-Bartlett</ref><ref name="corr 1922">Correspondence between Governor of British Somaliland and Secretary of State for the Colonies. Colonial Office, 26 March 1922.</ref>

Telegram from [[Geoffrey Archer (colonial administrator)|Sir Geoffrey Archer]], Governor of British Somaliland to [[Sir Winston Churchill]] the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]]:
<blockquote>I deeply regret to inform that during an affray at Burao yesterday between Rer Sugulleh and Akils of other tribes Captain Gibb was shot dead. Having called out Camel corps company to quell the disturbance, he went forward himself with his interpreter, whereupon fire opened on him by some Rer segulleh riflemen and he was instantly killed..Miscreants then disappeared under the cover of darkness.
To meet the situation created by the Murder of Gibb, we require two aeroplanes for about fourteen days. I have arranged with resident, Aden, for these. And made formal application, which please confirm. It is proposed they fly via Perim, confining sea crossing to 12 miles. We propose to inflict fine of 2,500 camels on implicated sections, who are practically isolated and demand surrender of man who killed Gibbs. He is known. Fine to be doubled in failure to comply with latter conditions and aeroplanes to be used to bomb stock on grazing grounds.<ref>Correspondence between Governor of British Somaliland and Secretary of State for the Colonies. Colonial Office, 28th February, 1922</ref></blockquote>

Sir Winston Churchill reporting on the Burao incident at the [[House of Commons]]:

<blockquote>On 25th February the Governor of Somaliland telegraphed that an affray between tribesmen had taken place at Burao on the previous day, in the course of which Captain Allan Gibb, D.S.O., D.C.M., the District Commissioner at Burao, had been shot dead. Captain Gibb had advanced with his interpreter to quell the disturbance, when 1954 fire was opened upon him by some riflemen, and he was instantly killed. The murderers escaped under cover of falling darkness.
Captain Gibb was an officer of long and valued service in Somaliland, whose loss I deeply regret. From the information available, his murder does not appear to have been premeditated, but it inevitably had a disturbing effect upon the surrounding tribes, and immediate dispositions of troops became necessary to ensure the apprehension and punishment of those responsible for the murder. On 27th February the Governor telegraphed that, to meet the situation which had arisen, he required two aeroplanes for purposes of demonstration, and suggested that two aeroplanes from the Royal Air Force Detachment at Aden should fly over to Berber a from Aden. He also telegraphed that in certain circumstances it might become necessary to ask for reinforcements of troops to be sent to the Protectorate.<ref>1922 Commons sitting. HC Deb 14 March 1922 vol 151 cc1953-4</ref></blockquote>

James Lawrence author of ''Imperial Rearguard: Wars of Empire'' writes

<blockquote>[Gibb]..was murdered by rioters during a protest against taxation at Burao. Governor Archer immediately called for aircraft which were at Burao within two days. The inhabitants of the native township were turned out of their houses, and the entire area was razed by a combination of bombing, machine-gun fire and burning.<ref>Imperial Rearguard: Wars of Empire, 1919–1985 pp.168</ref></blockquote>

After the RAF aircraft bombed Burao to the ground, the leaders of the rebellion acquiesced, agreeing to pay a fine for Gibb's death, but they refused to identify and apprehend the accused individuals. Most of the men responsible for Gibb's shooting evaded capture. In light of the failure to implement the taxation without provoking a violent response, the British abandoned the policy altogether.<ref>British Somaliland: An Administrative History, 1920–1960 pp.110</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tW_eEVbVxpEC&q=Gibbs&pg=PA991|title=Dictionary of battles and sieges P-Z, p.991|isbn=978-0-313-33539-6|last1=Jaques|first1=Tony|year=2007|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref><ref name="corr 1922"/>

==== 1945 Sheikh Bashir Rebellion ====
{{main|1945 Sheikh Bashir Rebellion}}
[[File:Sheikh Bashir praying.jpg|thumb|300px|Sheikh Bashir praying [[Sunnah prayer]], 1920]]
The 1945 Sheikh Bashir Rebellion was a rebellion waged by tribesmen of the [[Habr Je'lo]] clan in the former [[British Somaliland]] protectorate against British authorities in July 1945 led by [[Sheikh Bashir]], a [[Somalis|Somali]] religious leader.<ref name=":0">{{Cite thesis|title=Constructing colonial hegemony in the Somaliland protectorate, 1941–1960|url=https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/14169|date=1996|degree=Thesis|language=en-US|first=Jama|last=Mohamed}}</ref>

On 2 July, Sheikh Bashir collected 25 of his followers in the town of [[Wadamago]] and transported them on a lorry to the vicinity of [[Burao]], where he distributed arms to half of his followers. On the evening of 3 July, 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 of [[Burao 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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=of Rodd|first=Lord Rennell|title=British Military Administration in Africa 1941–1947|publisher=HMSO|year=1948|page=481}}</ref>

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 travelled 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 of [[Berbera]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Taariikhdii Halgamaa: Sheekh Bashiir Sh. Yuusuf. W/Q: Prof Yaxye Sheekh Caamir {{!}} Laashin iyo Hal-abuur|date=11 January 2018 |url=https://laashin.com/taariikhdii-halgamaa-sheekh-bashiir-sh-yuusuf-wq-prof-yaxye-sheekh-caamir/|access-date=31 May 2021|language=en-US}}</ref>

Sheikh Bashir settled 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 Islamic [[Sharia]] and gathered around him a strong following.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Sheekh Caamir|first=Yaxye|date=11 January 2018|title=Taariikhdii Halgamaa: Sheekh Bashiir Sh. Yuusuf|journal=Laashin}}</ref>

The British administration recruited Indian and South African troops, led by police general James David, to fight against Sheikh Bashir and had intelligence plans to capture him alive. The British authorities mobilised 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.<ref name=":1" />

After his death, Sheikh Bashir was widely hailed by locals as a martyr and was held in great reverence. His family took quick action to remove his body from the place of his death at Geela-eeg mountain, about 20 miles from [[Burao]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Akyeampong|first1=Emmanuel. K|title=Dictionary of African Biography, Volumes 1–6|date=2012|publisher=OUP US|page=107|language=english}}</ref>