Afgooye
| Afgooye أفجويي |
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| — Town — | |
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 Afgooye
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| Coordinates: 2°7′N 45°7′E / 2.117°N 45.117°ECoordinates: 2°7′N 45°7′E / 2.117°N 45.117°E | |
| Country |  Somalia |
| Region | Shabeellaha Hoose |
| District | Afgooye |
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) |
Afgooye (Somali: Afgooye, Arabic: أفجويي) is a town in the southeastern Shabeellaha Hoose region of Somalia.
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Location [edit]
It is situated about 25 kilometres west of Mogadishu, the nation's capital.[1] The Shabelle River passes through the middle of the town.
History [edit]
During the Middle Ages, Afgooye and much of the surrounding area in southern Somalia was governed by the Ajuuraan State.[2] The city later came under the administration of the Geledi Sultanate in the 1800s. The Istunka festival that is held annually in the town during the Somali new year dates from this period.[3]
At the turn of the 20th century, Afgooye was incorporated into Italian Somaliland. The Italians occupied the town in 1908 and in the process abolished the local slave market.[4]
In the 1980s, Afgooye was a common destination for investors from the Gulf states. The Emir of Kuwait also reportedly used to visit the town during the holy month of Ramadan.
After the outbreak of the civil war in 1991, parts of the town became a place of refuge for many of southern Somalia's internally displaced people.[5]
On May 25, 2012, Somali government forces backed by AMISOM tanks re-captured Afgooye from Al-Shabaab, which had established a base in the area. No civilian casualties were reported in the offensive. Liberation of the town is considered a significant victory, as it previously gave the militants direct access to the capital. Securing Afgooye also reportedly cuts the group's controlled territory in half.[6]
Demographics [edit]
Afgooye is inhabited by numerous Somali clans, as well as some minority groups. The Digil and Mirifle (Rahanweyn) sub-clans, the Wacdaan Cismaan sub-clan of the Mudulood, Loobage and the Gaaljecel and Garre are especially well represented.[7]
Geodesy [edit]
Afgooye is a geodetic datum used in Somalia. Afgooye datum is based on the Krasovsky ellipsoid and the Greenwich prime meridian.
Notable residents [edit]
- Abdullahi Issa, Prime Minister of the Trust Territory of Somalia
- Mohamed Osman Jawari, Speaker of the Federal Parliament of Somalia
- Mustafa Mohamed Moalim, (Mustafa Maxamed Macalin) (March 25, 1943–December 27, 2009) – first Somali fighter pilot, chief of the Somali Air Force School and chief of the Somali Air Force Operations.
Notes [edit]
- ^ International Institute for Mesopotamian Area Studies, Monographic journals of the Near East, (Undena Publications: 1981), p.78
- ^ Lee V. Cassanelli, The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900, (University of Pennsylvania Press: 1982), p.102.
- ^ Lee V. Cassanelli, The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900, (University of Pennsylvania Press: 1982), p.271.
- ^ I.M. Lewis, A Modern History of Somalia, fourth edition (Oxford: Currey, 2002), p. 87
- ^ Mooge, Ahmed; Gallagher, Patrick (22 October 2010). "Civilian casualties mount in Mogadishu". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Somali al-Shabab militant stronghold Afgoye 'captured'". BBC. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ Luling, Virginia (2002). Somali Sultanate: the Geledi city-state over 150 years. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-7658-0914-1.
