During the 1963 Ogaden rebellion, Shilaabo was blockaded and shelled by the Ethiopian Imperial Army as a reprisal for local support to the insurgency.

[1] Somali military units supported the Western Somali Liberation Front's attack on an Ethiopian military unit outside Silavo in June 1982, which led to a renewal of hostilities between the two countries.

[3][4] The mayor of Shilabo, Mahdi Badal Omar was arrested in July 1995, for allegedly being a member of the Ogaden National Liberation Front.

[2] Based on 2005 figures from the Central Statistical Agency, Shilavo has an estimated total population of 7,239 of whom 3,877 are men and 3,362 are women.

The city is primarily inhabited by the muse gumcadle subclan of [[Darod|Ogaden ,makahil]2nd [Bahgari sub clan of [DAROD,OGADEN], Marehan sub clan of Daarod, the Ogaden subclan of Daarod and a small community of the Hawadle subclan of Hawiye But the majority clan is Bahgeri One of the famous people from Shilavo are Dalmar AWil Gorod , Mahdi Badal Omar and Ugas Farah Sahal