Afgooye
Afgoye
أفجويى Afgoi | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Afgoye in 1856 | |
  Afgoye Location in Somalia | |
| Coordinates: 2°11′16″N 45°01′00″E / 2.18778°N 45.01667°E | |
| Country |  Somalia |
| Region | Lower Shebelle |
| District | Afgooye |
| Government | |
| • Type | south West State of Federal Republic of Somalia |
| • Mayor | Ibrahim Omar Qasim |
| Population | |
| • Total | 79,400 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
| Area code | +25261 |
Afgooye (Somali: Afgooye, Arabic: أفجويى, Italian: Afgoi) is a town in the southwestern Somalia Lower Shebelle (Shabellaha Hoose) region of Somalia. It is the center of the Afgooye District. Afgooye is the third largest city of South West.[1]
Location
It is situated about 25 kilometres west of Mogadishu, the nation's capital.[2] The Shabelle River passes through the middle of the town.
History
During the Middle Ages, Afgooye and much of the surrounding area in southern Somalia was governed by the Ajuran Empire.[3] The town later came under the administration of the Silcis Sultanate and Geledi Sultanate in the 1800s. The Istunka martial arts festival that is held annually in the town during the Somali new year dates from this period.[4]
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.[5] There was also a station in Afgooye on the Mogadishu-Villabruzzi Railway, which connected the town to the capital Mogadishu.
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.[6]
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.[7]
Demographics
Afgooye has a population of around 79,400 inhabitants.[8] The broader Afgooye District has a total population of 135,012 residents.[9]
Geodesy
Afgooye is a geodetic datum used in Somalia. Afgooye datum is based on the Krasovsky ellipsoid and the Greenwich prime meridian.
Notable residents
- Abdullahi Issa, Prime Minister of the Trust Territory of Somalia
- Mohamed Osman Jawari, Speaker of the Federal Parliament of Somalia
- Mustafa Mohamed Moalim, Chief of the Somali Air Force School and Operations
Notes
- ^ http://www.tageo.com/index-e-so-cities-SO.htm
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Somalia - City & Town Population". Tageo. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
- ^ "Regions, districts, and their populations: Somalia 2005 (draft)" (PDF). UNDP. Retrieved 21 September 2013.