According to a professor specializing in Somali affairs at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, the Dulbahante are primarily found in two areas; they are most densely concentrated in the northeastern region of Somalia around Las 'Anood, and in the Haud region bordering Ethiopia (7 May 1996). The areas populated by the Dulbahante are relatively peaceful. Although not areas burdened by civil war, life is made difficult by the lack of civil authority and the general chaos in political life (ibid.). A small unrepresentative group of Dulbahante were involved in the recent skirmishes in Kismayo (ibid.). In general, however, the Dulbahante as a group are not perceived to be threatening nor are they threatened by other clans (ibid.).

A professor at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, stated that the situation in Dulbahante areas is presently no different than it was last year at this time (6 May 1996). A professor of political science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, stated that he had no information on the Dulbahante (6 May 1996) as did a professor at the African Studies Centre, Michigan State University, East Lansing (6 May 1996). A professor in the Department of Political Science, College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, stated that there had been no major events in Dulbahante-inhabited areas or have affected Dulbahante populations within the last six months (6 May 1996).

According to a political consultant to the United Nations Emergencies Unit in Ethiopia, some Dulbahante fought on the side of the government in Somaliland in its fight against the Garxajis subclans in 1994; for example, the deputy commander of the government forces is a Dulbahante (Bryden Dec. 1994, 267). However, the Dulbahante did not explicitly align themselves with the governing authorities, and this remained true throughout 1995 (ibid. Nov. 1995, 290).

For information on the Dulbahante as a subclan of the Darod clan and their relations with other subclans, please consult the IRB's Supplement to Information Session on Country Conditions on Somalia, pp. 34-38, and the DIRB's Somalia: Update on the Situation in the North (Somaliland), pp. 3-4. These documents are available at Regional Documentation Centres. For information on their role in the Ethiopian Constituent Assembly, please refer to pp. 185-186 of Supplement to Information Session on Country Conditions on Somalia. Please consult the attachments to this Response for historical information on the Dulbahante. For a map of Dulbahante clan territory, please consult page 299 of Supplement to Information Session on Country Conditions on Somalia.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Bryden, Matthew. November 1995. "Somaliland and Peace in the Horn of Africa: A Situation Report and Analysis." (Compiled in Documentation, Information and Research Branch (DIRB), Immigration and Refugee Board. Feb. 1996. Supplement to Information Session on Country Conditions on Somalia.)

_____. December 1994. "Report on Mission to Somaliland 15/12/94 to 21/12/94." (Compiled in Documentation, Information and Research Branch (DIRB), Immigration and Refugee Board. Feb. 1996. Supplement to Information Session on Country Conditions on Somalia.)

Professor, African Studies Centre, Michigan State University, East Lansing. 7 May 1996. Telephone interview.

Professor, Department of Political Science, College of Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts. 6 May 1996. Telephone interview.

Professor specialising in Somalia, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts. 6 May 1996. Telephone interview.

Professor, Department of Political Science, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia. 6 May 1996. Telephone interview.

Professor, Department of International Studies, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minn. 7 May 1996. Telephone interview.

Laitin, David D. and Said S. Samatar. 1987. Somalia: Nation in Search of a State. Boulder, Col.: Westview Press, pp. 70, 94, 135, 136, 162.

Lewis. I. M. 1988. A Modern History of Somalia. Boulder, Col.: Westview Press, p. 6.