2.8.1. Awdal
Awdal is divided into four districts: Zeyla, Lughaye, Baki and Borama. The region’s capital is Borama.728 As of January 2026, Awdal’s population was estimated at 661 373.729 For more detailed background information on Awdal, see section 2.8.1. of the EUAA COI Report Somalia: Security Situation (May 2025).
According to Map 3 Somalia – Approximate Territorial Control as of 31 March 2026 and Map 2 Somalia – Approximate Territorial Control as of 31 March 2025, the entire region including the cities of Zeyla (Zeila), Lughaye, and Borama was reported to be under the control of the ‘Somaliland administration (separatist)’.730
In the last quarter of 2025,731 Awdal region faced tensions surrounding celebrations of Xeer Ciise, the customary legal code of the Issa (also Isse or Ciise) clan, after plans were announced to hold a related cultural event in Zeyla.732 Early December 2025, the planned commemoration led to protests in Borama,733 as the Gadabuursi community734 linked it to broader disputes over influence and territory in the region.735 The conflict assumed greater significance following Israel’s recognition of Somaliland.736 The Gadabuursi and Issa clans both extend into Djibouti and Ethiopia’s Somali Region. Djibouti’s media amplifies a narrative of the Issa community as an entity spanning Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somaliland, allowing Djibouti to allegedly use it as a tool to maintain influence on the western Somali coast.737 Ethiopia has maintained strategic interests in Zeyla, especially regarding maritime access.738 During the Borama protests, some demonstrators carried the flag of the Awdal State movement,739 as these demonstrations also signalled demands for regional autonomy and a desire for closer alignment with the FGS.740
Clashes between protesters and security forces741 reportedly resulted in at least 10,742 16743 or 20 persons killed and dozens others injured.744 End of December 2025,745 and in February 2026,746 clashes between clans in Zeyla and its surroundings were also linked to Xeer Ciise ceremonies.747 According to the International Crisis Group, as of end of February 2026, communal violence persisted in the region, with clashes between the Gadabuursi and Issa communities occurring on an almost daily basis.748
In the period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, ACLED recorded 64 security incidents in Awdal region, including battles, explosions or other forms of remote violence, and violence against civilians, causing 96 fatalities.749
Figure 39: Evolution of security events and fatalities in Awdal per month, based on ACLED data.750
Figure 40: Evolution of security events in Awdal per type, based on ACLED data.751
In the period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, the following actors (coded as either ‘Actor 1’, or ‘Actor 2’) were, among others, involved in security incidents: 46 security incidents involved clashes between various Dir (sub-)clan militias (mainly Gadabuursi militias against Issa or Cisse militias) resulting in 73 fatalities, while 8 incidents involved violence against civilians by different (sub-)clan militias.752
Illustrative security incidents
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In February 2026, reportedly nearly 30 people were killed and over 20 others injured in clashes between Issa and Gadabuursi clans.753
- In December 2025, reportedly 19 people were killed and over 200 injured in clashes between security forces and protesters in Borama.754
Conflict-related displacement
According to the UNHCR PRMN, no individuals were newly displaced from Awdal region due to conflict or insecurity in the period from April 2025 to February 2026, and no other individuals arrived from other regions.755
Other impacts on civilian life and humanitarian situation
In February 2026, the burning of homes was reported, following inter-clan clashes.756 A December 2025 map by UNOCHA showed ‘limited’ to ‘moderate restrictions’ regarding humanitarian access in parts of Baki district, while Borama, Lughaye and Zeyla districts showed ‘very limited’ restrictions.757 In total, UNOCHA recorded four humanitarian access incidents in 2025,758 of which one was recorded in the period between July and September 2025.759 Regarding the food insecurity situation as of January 2026, IPC reported that about 57 % of the total analysed population of 661 373 were either in Acute Food Insecurity IPC Phase 2 (stressed, 44 %), 3 (crisis, 11 %) or 4 (emergency, 2 %).760 In July 2025, the Somaliland authorities declared a humanitarian emergency in response to prolonged drought, with Awdal being among the most severely affected regions.761 As of 30 January 2026, drought conditions negatively impacted education.762 NRC recorded no evictions in Awdal in 2025 and early 2026.763 NRC data for 2025 and early 2026 showed the eviction of 3 420 individuals.764
- 728
UNOCHA, Somalia Administrative Reference Map, as of 20 July 2023, url
- 729
IPC, Somalia: Acute Food Insecurity and Acute Malnutrition Analysis January-June 2026, 24 February 2026, url, p. 4
- 730
PolGeoNow, Somalia Approximate Territorial Control, as of 31 March 2026, n.a.; PolGeoNow, Somalia Approximate Territorial Control, as of 31 March 2025, n.a.
- 731
Geeska, Awdal and the strategic calculus in the Horn, 10 December 2025, url
- 732
Geeska, Awdal and the strategic calculus in the Horn, 10 December 2025, url; Dawan, The Connection Between Xeer Ciise and The Awdal Conflict, 6 December 2025, url
- 733
FTL Somalia, Borama Settles After Violent Unrest as Somaliland Accuses Outside Actors, 8 December 2025, url
- 734
Standardmedia, Tension in Borama persists after deadly unrest amid calls for accountability, 7 December 2025, url; Somalia Today, Somaliland blames Mogadishu as it scraps Xeer Ciise event, 6 December 2025, url
- 735
Geeska, Awdal and the strategic calculus in the Horn, 10 December 2025, url; FTL Somalia, Borama Settles After Violent Unrest as Somaliland Accuses Outside Actors, 8 December 2025, url
- 736
International Crisis Group, Global Overview February 2026, n.d., url
- 737
Geeska, Somaliland’s Western Fault Line, 11 December 2025, url
- 738
Geeska, Awdal and the strategic calculus in the Horn, 10 December 2025, url
- 739
Hiiraan Online, Somaliland Police urge calm in Boorama after deadly protests over Xeer Ciise Book launch, 5 December 2025, url
- 740
MEE, How Israel’s recognition of Somaliland risks destabilising the region, 2 January 2026, url
- 741
Mareeg, Borama Unrest Leaves 19 Dead, 200 Injured, 19 December 2025, url
- 742
Hiiraan Online, Somaliland President condemns deadly Borama clashes, orders troops to return to bases, 6 December 2025, url
- 743
International Crisis Group, Global Overview December 2025, n.d., url; Somalia Today, Somaliland blames Mogadishu as it scraps Xeer Ciise event, 6 December 2025, url
- 744
FTL Somalia, Borama Settles After Violent Unrest as Somaliland Accuses Outside Actors, 8 December 2025, url
- 745
Radio Dalsan, Clan clashes erupt in Salal and Awdal over land disputes linked to the Heer Isse ceremony, 25 December 2025, url
- 746
Gallaydh, Failure of Diplomacy: Conflict in Awdal and Selel Reignites as Government Accused of “Stillborn” Peace Plan, 16 February 2026, url
- 747
Radio Dalsan, Clan clashes erupt in Salal and Awdal over land disputes linked to the Heer Isse ceremony, 25 December 2025, url
- 748
International Crisis Group, Global Overview February 2026, n.d., url
- 749
EUAA analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Data Export Tool, Somalia, data covering 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, as of 16 April 2026, url
- 750
EUAA analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Data Export Tool, Somalia, data covering 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, as of 16 April 2026, url
- 751
EUAA analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Data Export Tool, Somalia, data covering 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, as of 16 April 2026, url
- 752
EUAA analysis based on publicly available ACLED data. ACLED, Data Export Tool, Somalia, data covering 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, as of 16 April 2026, url
- 753
Inside Somalia, Inter clan clash leaves nearly 30 in Awdal region, 2 February 2026, url
- 754
Hiiraan, Somaliland says 19 killed, over 200 injured in Borama protests, 19 December 2025, url
- 755
UNHCR, PRMN Datafile – Somalia, as of 16 April 2026, url
- 756
Hiiraan Online, Awdal traditional leaders suspend cooperation with Somaliland’s interior minister, 17 February 2026, url
- 757
UNOCHA, Somalia Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2026, 27 January 2026, url, p. 17
- 758
UNOCHA, Humanitarian Access Snapshot (2025), 8 January 2026, url, p.2
- 759
UNOCHA, Humanitarian Access Snapshot (July – September 2025), 15 October 2025, url, p. 2
- 760
IPC, Somalia: Acute Food Insecurity and Acute Malnutrition Analysis January-June 2026, 24 February 2026, url, p. 4
- 761
Kaab TV, Somaliland Declares Drought Emergency for 4 Regions, Appeals for Urgent Aid, 26 July 2025, url
- 762
UNOCHA, Somalia: 2025 Drought Emergency, Situation Report No. 3, 2 February 2026, url, pp. 1-2
- 763
NRC, Evictions, n.d., url, filter ‘2025’ and ‘2026’, respectively, as year, ‘Awdal’ as region. Numbers include data until 31 March 2026, as of 8 April 2026.
- 764
NRC, Evictions, n.d., url, filter ‘2025’ and ‘2026’, respectively, as year, ‘Mudug’ as region. Numbers include data until 31 March 2026, as of 8 April 2026.