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The Mohamed Abokor (, full name: Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Jibrīl ibn Abī Bakr ibn Mūsa ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad) is a Somali clan, and a major sub-division of the Habr Je'lo of the Isaaq.
The Mohamed Abokor are one of the largest sub-divisions of the Habr Je'lo. They inhabit the Togdheer, Sool and Sahil regions of Somaliland, in addition to the Somali Region of Ethiopia and Isiolo, Kenya, where they form part of the Isahakia community. Notable subclans include Aden Madoba, Yeesif, Rer Dahir, Solomadow and Ahmed Farah.
Historically, the Mohamed Abokor were chiefly nomadic pastoralists, whereas the Musa Abokor and Omar obtained much of their wealth via their frankincense plantations in the mountainous interior adjacent to the coastline.
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.Sessional papers Volume 48. p. 15
According to the British War Office, the Ahmed Farah, Rer Yusuf and Adan Madoba Habr Je'lo sub-clans were among the first to join the Dervish rebellion. Haji Sudi, along with Mohammed Abdullah Hassan and Sultan Nur led the first Dervish forces against the British at Samala, Ferdidin, Erigo and Gumburu.Official History of the Operation, Volume 1. p. 49In pursuit of The Mad Mullah, Malcolm McNeil. p. 123 Moreover, The coastal Habr Je'lo sub-clans provided significant armaments to the Dervish forces in the interior.Official History of the Operation, Volume 1. p. 41 Before sending troops to confront the Dervish at Samala, Consul-General Hayes Sadler gave the following instructions to the commander Eric John Eagles Swayne:
In the unlikely event of the Mullah offering to surrender, in his case and that of the Following: Haji Sudi, Deria Arale, Deria Gure Only an unconditional surrender should be accepted no guarantee of any kind to future treatment been given. Sultan Nur, the Sultan of the Habr Yunis, may be guaranteed his life." J. Hayes-Sadler, His Britannic Majesty's Consul-General, Somali Coast Protectorate. Aden April 11, 1901."Official History of the Operations in Somaliland. 1901–1904 Vol. I p. 54
Although facing the British in multiple battles between 1901 and 1904, the colonial forces failed to in their efforts to apprehend Sudi, Arale, Gure and their fellow Dervishes. Gabriel Ferrand, the Vice-Consul of France following these events observed that:
Neither the Mahdi nor his chief adviser Ahmed Warsama, better known under the name Haji Sudi, nor the Sultan Nur, leader of the Habr Younis clan were killed or captured. The optimism of Colonel Sadler and Lieutenant-Colonel Swayne in the latest reports relating to military operations is inexplicable."Les Çomâlis. Ferrand Gabriel, 1903. p. 268.
Abdalah Shihiri and Deria Arale led the 1904 Dervish delegation that facilitated the Ilig or Pestollaza agreement between the Dervish and Italy. This treaty allowed the Dervishes to peacefully settle in Italian Somaliland with some autonomy.Ministero della Guerra, Comando del Corpo di S.M./Ufficio Storico: SOMALIA, Vol. I, Dalle Original 1914, Roma, 1938- XVI, pp. 308, 309, 315, 318, 319.Caroselli, op. cit. 78-9.
In 1920, the British air force commenced their bombardment of Dervish fort and their ground assault on Taleh fort. Haji Sudi, the highest ranking Dervish after Mohammed Abdullah Hassan and Ibrahim Boghol, commander of the northern Dervish army died valiantly defending the Taleh.Sun, Sand and Somals - Leaves from the Note-Book of a District Commissioner, H. Rayne
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.
Sheikh Bashir sent a message to religious figures in the town of Erigavo and called on them to revolt and join the rebellion he led. The religious leaders as well as the people of Erigavo heeded his call, and mobilized a substantial number of people in Erigavo armed with rifles and spears and staged a revolt. The British authorities responded rapidly and severely, sending reinforcements to the town and opening fire on the armed mobs in two "local actions" as well as arresting minor religious leaders in the town.
The British administration recruited and 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.
Despite the death of Sheikh Bashir and his followers resistance against British authorities continued in Somaliland, especially in Erigavo where his death stirred further resistance in the town and the town of Badhan and lead to attacks on British colonial troops throughout the district and the seizing of arms from the rural constabulary.
Despite the death of Sheikh Bashir and his second-in-command, the British authorities was not finished with the rebels and continued its counter-insurgency campaign. The authorities had quickly learned the names and identities of all the followers of Sheikh Bashir and tried to convince the locals to turn them in. When they refused, the authorities invoked the Collective Punishment Ordinance, under which the authorities seized and impounded a total of 6,000 camels owned by the Habr Je'lo, the clan that Sheikh Bashir belonged to. The British authorities made the return of the livestock dependent on the turning over and arrest of the escaped rebels. The remaining rebels were subsequently found and arrested, and transported to the Saad-ud-Din archipelago, off the coast of Zeila in northwestern Somaliland.
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