The city originated as a well named Ceel-Gooni in the late 18th century used by nomads from the surrounding area. The town subsequently grew around the well. Due to the availability of water along the dry valley, Burao developed into a small inland market hub that linked the
port of Berbera with the hinterland and offered trading facilities for the region's nomadic population. The settlement was later on burned to the ground by
British forces in 1900, with the modern settlement being re-established in 1910.After leaving the Berbera coastlands and ascending the escarpments of the great inland plateau, the convoy followed the valley of the Tug Dayr as far as Burao, capital of a powerful but friendly Habr Gerhaji sultan.Explorer
Frank Linsly James, a guest of Sultan Awad Deria during his visit to Somaliland in 1884, describes a performance he witnessed by Habr Yunis Horsemen at Burao's
Togdheer River.During our stay at Burao, the Sultan collected a great many of his people together, and twice entertained us with some well-executed and characteristic evolutions on horseback. On the first occasion some forty mounted men were collected in the Tug before our zariba; but this did not satisfy the Sultan, and he arranged a second "fan- tasia", in which fully two hundred warriors were engaged. It was the best and most characteristic thing of the kind I had ever seen. A procession was first formed in the river's bed, and on a given signal all dashed off, brandishing their spears and shields. Dressed in tobes of many colours, and sitting loosely on their gaily caparisoned horses, they engaged in mimic contest with spear and shield, reining their horses upon their haunches when at full gallop, and with wild shouts flinging their spears into the air. Each warrior carried a short-handled whip with a broad raw hide thong, and with it lashed his steed unmercifully. Some of the riders went through regular circus feats, leaping from their horses when at full gallop, picking up objects thrown on the ground, and then remount- ing. After this had continued for some time they would gallop close to our zariba, and reining up, shout "Mort, mort" ("Welcome, welcome"), to which we replied, "Kul liban" ("Thanks").
Dervish movement The Dervish movement was founded in Burao in 1899. In the end of late August of that year the Dervish leaders and their clan followers assembled at Burao,
Mohammed Abdullah Hassan with his followers from the
Dhulbahante, the various
Habar Jeclo sub clans with their principle headman
Haji Sudi, and
Sultan Nur Ahmed Aman with his followers from the
Habr Yunis clan, declared open hostility. The assembled Dervish and their clan allies sent the following stern letter to Captain Cordeauxe and James Hayes Sadler: "This is to inform you that you have done whatever you have desired, and oppressed our well-known religion without any cause. Further, to inform you that whatever people bring to you they are liars and slanderers. Further, to inform you that Mahomed, your Akil, came to ask from us the arms we therefore, send you this letter. Now choose for yourself; if you want war we accept it, if you want peace pay the fine." September 1, 1899.
Burao tax revolt and RAF bombing The people of Burao clashed with the British in 1922 after a heavy tax was imposed upon them. They revolted in opposition to the tax and this caused them to riot and attack British government officials. In the ensuing disturbances a shootout between the British and Burao residents broke out; Captain Allan Gibb, a Dervish war veteran and district commissioner, was shot and killed. The British, fearing they could not contain the revolt, requested that
Secretary of State for the Colonies Sir
Winston Churchill send troops from
Aden and
bomber aircraft in order to bomb Burao and the livestock of the revolting clans to quell any further rebellion. 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. Telegram from Sir
Geoffrey Archer, Governor of British Somaliland to
Sir Winston Churchill the
Secretary of State for the Colonies: 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 interperter, whereupon fire opened on him by some Rer segulleh riflemen and he was instantly killed..Miscreants then disappeared under the cover of darkness. In order 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. Sir
Winston Churchill reporting on the Burao incident in the
House of Commons: 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 in order to ensure the apprehension and punishment of those responsible for the murder. On 27th February the Governor telegraphed that, in order 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. James Lawrence author of
Imperial Rearguard: Wars of Empire writes [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. 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. 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. 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 traveled 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. 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. 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 mobilized 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. A secondary school in Burao, called the Sheikh Bashir Secondary School, is named in his honour.
Post-colonial The town became a district capital and a number of public buildings were subsequently established in the following years. Burao's administrative importance declined after Hargeisa replaced Berbera as the capital of the British Somaliland protectorate in 1941, and Burao's urban infrastructure remained underdeveloped. However, with the expansion of the region's livestock trade in the 1950s the city once again began to grow. Serving as the most important regional market hub, where livestock from the
Hawd region as well as the city's south-western hinterlands was assembled and exported to Saudi Arabia, Burao grew rapidly and replaced Berbera as the second largest city of the Protectorate. Burao's rapid growth continued after independence in 1960. Burao regained its administrative importance as it was made the capital of the Togdheer region, which at the time encompassed today's
Togdheer,
Sool and
Sanaag regions. With the opening of a local branch of the
Somali Commercial Bank, livestock traders gained access to credits and further expanded their business activities by investing their profits in the real estate market, further contributing to the development and growth of the city.
Somaliland War of Independence After Siad Barre took power in 1969, the Isaaq sub-clans felt more and more marginalized, as outsiders from the
Darood clan dominated the political establishment of Burao. Most governors during Barre's time in office came from the South and belonged to Darood clans. Violent incidents against the Isaaq civilian population increased in the 1980s, which led to Isaaqs supporting the rebellion of the Somali National Movement. In May 1988, the
Somali National Movement launched an offensive on the cities of
Hargeisa and Burao, then the second and third largest cities of
Somalia. The SNM captured Burao on 27 May within two hours, while the SNM entered Hargeisa on 29 May, overrunning most of the city apart from its airport by 1 June. There was also widespread looting by the soldiers, and some people were reportedly killed as a result.Refugee interviews conducted by Africa Watch described how the government separated the non-Isaaqs from the Isaaqs before the attack was initiated:As soon as the fighting broke out, the government used loudspeakers to sort the civilians out into Darood and Isaak. They would shout, "Who is from
Galkayo?
Mogadishu?
Las Anod?
Garoe?" [Non-Isaaq territory]. They appealed to the non-Isaaks to leave so they could burn the town and all those who remained behind. Most of the people from these towns left; the government provided them with transportation.
Aerial bombardment and destruction of Burao Somali Air Force aircraft started intense aerial bombardment of Burao on Tuesday 31 May. Burao, then the third largest city in Somalia was "razed to the ground", and most of its inhabitants fled the country to seek refuge in Ethiopia. Foreign aid workers who fled the fighting confirmed that Burao was "emptied out" as a result of the government's campaign.
Declaration of Independence In May 1991, an SNM Central Committee convened in Burao collectively agreed upon revoking its voluntary union with the
Somali Democratic Republic. Representatives from the Isaaq clan were in collective support of secession which was reinforced by the support the clan elders of the non-Isaaq clans who were present at the Burco conference ==Demographics==