Everything about Beledweyne totally explained
Beledweyne is a city in central
Somalia. It is the capital of the
Hiraan province, and is located in the central valley of the
Shebelle River near the border with
Ethiopia, some 206 miles (332 km) north of the capital
Mogadishu. Straddling a meander of the river, it consists of four main districts called: Oktoobar (Buundoweyn), Howlwadaag, Kooshin and Xaawotaako. The Shabelle river divides the town into east and west.
Beledweyne is one of the oldest cities in Somalia, and the city where the first generation of modern Somali politicians have their roots, from
Aden Abdullah Osman Daar to
Mohamed Farah Aidid. Following the relocation of his capital to
Taleex in
1909,
Mohammed Abdullah Hassan .
After the death of Hasan Qalaad, Mr. Abdullahi Abdi Aaden (Koofi) was in charge of the town until the transitional Somali president
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed nominated
Yusuf Ahmed Hagar (also known as Yusuf Mohamud Hagar ("Dabageed")) as the new governor of the region. He had been forced to flee by the
Islamic Courts Union (ICU) whose forces, under the command of
Yusuf Makaraan took the town in
August 2006 and established a
sharia court under Sheik
Farah Moalim. Though "Dabageed" returned to the town following the
Battle of Beledweyne, on
January 1,
2007, Somali President
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed declared
Hussein Mohamud Moalim as new administrator for Hiiran region, replacing Dabageed, and
Saleyman Ahmed Hilowle was nominated as assistant administrator.
Clan strife
The
Hawiye Hawadle clan controls the east part of the town. The western part of the town is controlled by Gaaljecel and the Gugundhabe also
Hawiye subclans. Other clans such as Jajeele and Makane (a Bantu people) reside the town and are powerful in terms of social and political presence of Hiran region even though they're peaceful communities.
In June
2005, fighting between the Galje'el and Jajele clans in the western end of town lasted for four days, resulting in 30 dead, 70 wounded and hundreds more displaced. This left the town on an uneasy footing.
There were also reprisal killings of suspected Islamists following the
December 2006 Battle of Beledweyne.
Military history
Beledweyne is considered a strategic town due to its location.
During the 1970s, Beledweyne was a staging area for the
Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) which sought to liberate the Ogaden area of Ethiopia and make it part of Somalia (see
Greater Somalia). When the Ethiopians drove the Somali army and the WSLF out of the Ogaden during the
Ogaden War, Beledweyne became the center of a refugee crisis that brought tens of thousands of Ogadeni refugees from Ethiopia into Somalia. The Ogadenis, part of the Somali
Darood clan–the clan of Somali dictator
Mohamed Siyaad Barre–clashed with local Hawadle of the
Hawiye clan and set off the events that eventually led to
Somalia's civil war.
During the
War in Somalia (2006-present), the internationally-backed
Transitional Federal Government (TFG), supported by
Ethiopian troops,
took the town from the
Islamic Courts Union (ICU).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Beledweyne'.
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