Somalia and Somaliland

The people of Somalia have suffered decades of armed conflict, beginning with the Ogaden War in 1977 and continuing today with the ongoing civil war fought largely between the al-Shabaab insurgents and the Federal Government of Somalia, backed by foreign forces. 

Thousands of landmines and explosives have been used, leaving a deadly legacy that threatens lives and destroys futures. The country remains separated between the independent state of Somaliland, semi-autonomous Puntland, and the four newly formed states that make up Southern Somalia.

While Somalia now has an internationally recognised government, the federal system is fragile and its people remain at risk from instability, landmines and other explosives, as well as large numbers of unsecured weapons.

Somaliland, despite its lack of international recognition, continues to make progress as a democracy. In late 2024 it held its fourth presidential election since the declaration of independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991, following a three-year civil war.

For many years, it was too dangerous for organisations like HALO to access the remote communities in southern Somalia most severely affected by landmines and other explosives, but that is changing.

Across the states of Galmadug, Hirshabelle and Southwest we are identifying battle sites and minefields and have been working to make the land safe, so that farmers can use it to graze animals or access precious resources like water. We also teach risk education to vulnerable families, ensuring people stay safe until our work is done.

By building trust with locals, we can respond to requests to remove explosives left behind by years of fighting.

With donor funding support, HALO has also been working to support community resilience-building in the Somaliland region through rehabilitation of soil and vegetation in areas cleared from landmines. This includes the construction of soil bunds for rainwater catchment, reseeding of native grasses, the creation of community managed enclosures for fodder production, and cash-for-work schemes to train and employ local people. Community water storage facilities have also been rehabilitated to boost and enhance the management of water reserves.

In southern Somalia, HALO works with national partners and international researchers to document population distributions of Boswellia (Frankincense) species and provide tree husbandry support to conflict-impacted resin harvesting communities.

Across the Horn of Africa region, HALO is developing partnerships with established national and international NGOs, research institutes and academic institutions to support biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods, and community-level climate change initiatives.

HALO began working in Somaliland in 1999, clearing battlefields and minefields covering an area larger than Washington D.C. Today, we employ over 400 local staff and continue to work with the government, providing training and mentoring to the national authorities.

In a country ravaged by drought, we create safe access to roads and precious grazing land. We also teach families how to stay safe until all the landmines can be removed for good. This is vital work because we receive and respond to hundreds of callouts from people who discover dangerous explosives that need to be destroyed.

In Somaliland, where food is scarce due to extreme drought, local goat herders like Abdul face an impossible decision. Do they risk grazing their animals on mined land or see them starve?  HALO cleared an area the size of 30 football pitches around the village of Sayla Bari, where Abdul now grazes his goats in safety.

Somaliland cannot be found on an official map or atlas, yet has all the characteristics of a functioning state. HALO has demined hundreds of miles of roads and has been its second largest employer. In this podcast episode we hear from Chris Pym and Aislinn Redbond on how we're now dealing with a new threat to life: environmental degradation.