The Bimaal or Bimal, (Somali: Biimaal; Arabic:بيمال) are a sub-clan of the major Dir clan family. This clan is widely known for leading a resistance against the colonials in northern Somalia for decades which can be compared to the war of the Sayyid in Somaliland. The Biimaal mainly lives in southern Somalia, the Somali region of Ethiopia, which their Gaadsen sub-clan mainly inhabits.
Italian Somaliland (Italian: Somalia Italiana; Arabic: الصومال الإيطالي, romanized: Al-Sumal Al-Italiy; Somali: Dhulka Soomaalida ee Talyaaniga) comprised self-ruling protectorates and colonial possessions of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. It lasted from the late 19th century to 1941, when it was occupied by British troops; from 1950 to 1960 it was revived as the UN Trust Territory of Somalia under Italian administration.
Following two treaties in 1889, Italy established a protectorate over northern Somali territories ruled by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate. In the south, the Italians established colonial rule over Adale in 1892, Mogadishu, Merca, Barawa and Warsheekh in 1893, Giumbo and Luuq in 1895, Jazeera in 1897, Afgooye, Maregh, Barire, Mellèt, Danane and Balàd in 1907–1908, and the territories between the Shabelle and Jubba rivers in the following years. During this period, the Bimaal and Wa'dan revolts near Merca marked the Somali resistance to Italian expansion, coinciding with the rise of the anti-colonial Dervish movement led by Mohammed Abdullah Hassan'.
Merca (Somali: Marka; Arabic: مركة) is the capital city of the Lower Shebelle province of Somalia, a historic port city in the region. It is located approximately 109 km (68 mi) to the southwest of the nation's capital Mogadishu. Merca is the traditional home territory of the Bimal clan and was the center of the Bimal revolt.