Burtinle

Burtinle is the center of the Burtinle District. It lies in between Galkayo and Garoowe, close to the border with Ethiopia. The city was established in the early 1920s by Ughaz Gelle Maxamed Kaneec of the Awrtable. Burtinle consists of 7 neighborhoods namely: Tinka Dheer in which the city is named, Kaantaroolka, Booray, Tuulo Ciise, Xafatul Carab, Buur Karoole, and Godqol Weyne^[1]

The town is home to a few clans, predominantly Awrtable but also some Cumar Maxamuud. There is also a notable number of Gaboye present.

Burtinle has a number of academic institutions. According to the Puntland Ministry of Education, there are currently 16 primary schools in the Burtinle District. Among these are Hormud, Imamu Shafici, Magacley and Meraysane.^[2] Secondary schools in the area include Burtinle High.^[3]

Puntland Ministry of Health runs the District Hospital (Burtinle District Hospital) at the northern periphery of town. Its expansion funded by German Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau and managed by UNICEF was first completed in 2023 and extended in 2024-2025. The hospital departments include an Outpatient Department, an Emergency Department, Radiology, an Operational Theatre as well as a Maternity Ward. The hospital´s architectural design, prepared by East Africa based climate responsive architecture experts APC Architectural Pioneering Consultants responds to the hot and arid local climate through by a windcatcher natural ventilation system. It has been awarded with a number of international architectural honours.^[4]

In March 2015, the Ministry of Labour, Youth and Sports in conjunction with the European Union and World Vision launched the Nugal Empowerment for Better Livelihood Project in the Burtinle, Garowe, Dangorayo, Eyl and Godobjiran districts of Puntland. The three-year initiative is valued at $3 million EUR, and is part of the New Deal Compact for Somalia. It aims buttress the regional economic sector through business support, training and non-formal education programs, community awareness workshops, and mentoring and networking drives.^[5]