Yubbe

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Yubbe, also known as Yobe, Yube, Yubeh and Yubbe Tug, is a small desert town in the Sanaag region of Puntland, with about 2,000 residents (as of 2002). It is mainly inhabited by Mahmoud Harti clans—Nuh Omar (Warsangeli) and Hinjiye—and is home to several ancient archaeological structures. The explorer John Hanning Speke described tumuli in Yubbe, noting a hollow chamber containing pots, coins, and a small gold ring.

The town has been a venue for important clan talks. In 1991, leaders from Warsangali and Habar Yoonis met in Yubbe to end fighting and share grazing land. A later rally in 1991–1992 produced a ceasefire and boundary agreement. In 1993, another gathering in Yubbe led to plans to invite all Sanaag clans to a regional meeting in Erigavo.

Yubbe has faced challenges such as a severe water shortage in 2006, when a well failed. It has also been affected by the Puntland–Somaliland dispute: tensions rose in the late 2000s, and in 2015 a Somaliland election official was abducted in Yubbe and taken to Badhan in Puntland. In 2019, Somaliland troops blocked traffic near Yubbe, prompting local protests and secret meetings among Erigavo elders to demand withdrawal. By August 2019, Puntland officials said Somaliland forces had withdrawn from Sanaag except for Yubbe, where Puntland-aligned militias remained. In late 2019, residents saw al-Shabaab members in nearby areas, and in February 2020 clashes occurred in Kadhada, near Yubbe, with Puntland claiming victory. In 2021, a planned maternity hospital and other development projects in Yubbe were suspended, and in January 2023 Somaliland forces reportedly withdrew from Yubbe.

On 10 July 2025, Puntland’s Minister of Health, Said Qorshel, and other officials visited Yubbe and laid the foundation for new development projects. Today, Yubbe remains a small desert town with a nomadic population, predominantly of the Mahmoud Harti clans.