El Afweyn (Somali: Ceelafweyn, Arabic: عيل أفوين) is a town in the Sanaag region of Somaliland.

El Afweyn
Ceelafweyn (Somali)
عيل أفوين (Arabic)
Town
El Afweyn is located in Sanaag
El Afweyn
El Afweyn
Location in Somaliland
El Afweyn is located in Somaliland
El Afweyn
El Afweyn
El Afweyn (Somaliland)
Coordinates: 9°55′45″N 47°13′2″E / 9.92917°N 47.21722°E / 9.92917; 47.21722
Country Somaliland
RegionSanaag
DistrictEl Afweyn District
Government
 • MayorMahamed Aden Digale
Population
 • Total250,000(in 2,005[1])
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)

El Afweyn is a major historical town in western Sanaag region and sits at the major road connecting the cities of Burao and Erigavo. By road, the town is approximately 283 km east of Burao and 88 km southwest of Erigavo.[2][3]

The town is also the administrative seat of the El Afweyn District.

History

Isaaq genocide

During the Isaaq genocide El Afweyn and its surrounding territory saw over 300 people be killed in October 1988 in revenge for the death of an army officer who was killed by a landmine laid by the rebel Somali National Movement (or the SNM for short). The town was also bombed by the Somali Air Force.[4]

Oxfam Australia (formerly known as Community Aid Abroad) described the situation in El Afweyn as follows:

It is known that many people have fled from the town of Elafweyn following bombing attacks by the government forces. A "scorched earth" policy applied to the villages in the Elafweyn plains. These displaced people are hiding in the bush without adequate access to food and medical supplies.[5]

In July 2000, El Afweyn was reported to be the most severely affected by flooding in the Sanaag region.[6]

Security

Jama Ali Jama, who had temporarily assumed the presidency after expelling then Puntland president Abdullahi Yusuf from the capital Garowe in 2002, retreated to El Afwein after a heavy defeat in Dhuudo, Puntland in December 2002.[7] The militia remained stationed in El Afwein, a town outside of Puntland's claimed jurisdiction,[8] until early 2003 when both sides reconciled. Parts of the militia surrendered to Puntland forces in March 2003,[9] with the militia itself withdrawing to Bosaso on April the same year.[7]

In 2005, a settlement was reached between Osman Aw Mohamud (Buurmadow) and Axmed Cali Ducaale, who both claim to be Boqor (regional king). The House of Elders was also instrumental in this settlement.[10]

Construction by Somaliland

Around 2010, security was stable, and the leader of the opposition Kulmiye Peace, Unity, and Development Party reportedly gave an election speech.[11]

In 2012, the Somaliland government dug a 350-meter well, fully funded by the central government, to provide safe drinking water to more than 1,000 households.[12]

Clan Struggle and Reconciliation

El Afweyn has been the site of a prolonged conflict that started in 2015 over grazing land, scarce water resources, and disputes over political power and influence between two resident communities.[13][14]

The conflict was subsequently resolved in mid-July 2018 with the help of a Somaliland government led delegation from the Academy for Peace and Development (AFD).[15] But as early as September, there was another deadly battle.[16]

On 23 September 2018, the road between Erigavo and El Afweyn was opened.[17]

On 5 November 2019, a peace deal between two rival clans was announced in El Afweyn.[18]

On 27 May 2020, Somaliland's Ministry of Environment seized illegally logged timber in El Afweyn district and announced that the government would take control of the forest.[19]

Archaeology

The town of El Afweyn contains archeological sites in the form of pre-historical caves and rock-carvings. In 1972, a joint Somali-Soviet expedition arrived in El Afweyn to research these rock carvings.[20] El Afweyn is also home to multiple cairns and the rock art site of God-Hardune near the town.[21]

Near El Afweyn is the ruined Islamic city of Maduna, considered the most substantial and most accessible ruin of its type in Somaliland.[22][23] The main feature of the ruined city includes a large rectangular mosque, its 3-metre high walls still standing and which include a mihrab and possibly several smaller arched niches.[23] The mosque is surrounded by several old houses, most of whom being partially intact.[23] The houses include roofed rooms, as well as compounds of dome-shaped structures lacking doors or windows.[24] Just on a slope below the ruined city stands a baobab tree, large enough to suggest that it was planted while the city was inhabited.[23]

Not much is known about Maduna's history, with its dry-stone architectural style suggesting that Maduna was a contemporary of other ruined cities in Somaliland like Amoud and Abasa, meaning that Maduna was presumably part of the Adal sultanate.[23] Swedish-Somali archaeologist Sada Mire dates the ruined city to the 15th–17th centuries.[24]

Flora and fauna

El Afweyn is home to a diverse collection of flora and fauna, especially birds. Birds native to the town include the Blue-headed Wagtail, the White-winged Tern, the common migrant warbler, the Common Nightingale, the Squacco Heron, the Egyptian vulture, the Wattled Starling and the Lappet-faced Vulture.[25]

Economy

El Afweyn's economy is primarily based on the export of livestock. The town is home to the largest livestock markets in Sanaag region, and one of the largest in the Horn of Africa. The livestock market handles livestock from all corners of the Somali territories and generates a significant percentage of the town's income.[26]

Education

There are nine primary and secondary schools located in El Afweyn, including Aadan Abokor Qorsheel School and the Nugaal Primary and Intermediate School, among others.[27][28][29]

Demographics

As of 2005 El Afweyn has a total population of 36,159 residents.[30] It is mainly populated by the Habr Je'lo clan of the Isaaq clan-family,[31] specifically the Bi'ide,[32] and the Habar Yoonis sub-clan of the Garhajis Isaaq, specifically the Saad Yunis.[32]

Notable residents

References

  1. ↑ "Regions, districts, and their populations: Somalia 2005 (draft)" (PDF). United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. United Nations Development Programme. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "Distance between Ceel Afweyn, Sanaag Somalia SO and Erigavo, Sanaag Somalia SO (Sanaag,Somalia)". distancecalculator.globefeed.com. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  3. ↑ "283 Km – Distance from burco to El Afweyn". distancesfrom.com. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  4. ↑ Ford, Richard; Adam, Hussein Mohamed; Ismail, Edna Adan (1 January 2004). War destroys, peace nurtures: reconciliation and development in Somalia. Red Sea Press. ISBN 978-1-56902-186-6.
  5. ↑ Somalia: A Government at War With Its Own People (PDF). Human Rights Watch. 1990. p. 158.
  6. ↑ Food Security Analysis Unit (27 July 2000). "Sections of Food Insecure/At Risk Populations in Somaliland". Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  7. 1 2 interpeace (July 2008). "The Puntland Experience: A Bottom-up Approach to Peace and State Building" (PDF). p. 27. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  8. ↑ Refworld (1 July 2001). "Transitional Constitution of Puntland Regional Government". Retrieved 24 February 2022. The territorial sovereignty of Puntland shall extend to: East Region of Bari, Nugal, Sool, South Togdher (Buhodle District), Mudug except the Districts of Hobyo and Haradhere and Sanag Region except the District of El-Afweyn and Northeast of Erigavo District
  9. ↑ Allpuntland (14 May 2003). "Maleeshiyadii Ceel-Afweyn oo Qaar u soo galeen Daraawiishta Puntland". Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Boqor Cismaan Buur-Madow Iyo Boqor Axmed Dheere Go'aamo Hordhac Ah Ka Gaadhay Xiisadii Ceel-Afweyn". haatuf.net. 23 January 2005. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "Madaxda xisbiyada oo ololeynaya". BBC. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "Somaliland: Governmen20t to Avail El-Afweyne Residents Safe Drinking Water". Somaliland Sun. 10 March 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  13. ↑ "Somalia - Security Situation in Somalia (last update: August 2020) - ecoi.net". ecoi.net. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  14. ↑ "Peace and Strategic Policy Center". Retrieved 10 May 2021 – via Facebook.
  15. ↑ "Somaliland: 'Declaration of Peace' Halts Protracted Conflict in Ceel Afweyn – Somalia". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  16. ↑ "Akhriso:-Khasaaraha Ka Dhashay Dagaal Dhex Maray Laba Maleeshiyo Beeleed". radiodalsan.com. 6 September 2018. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "Somaliland: Waddada laamiga ah ee u dhexeeysa Ceerigaabo iyo Ceel-Afweyn oo la furay". BBC. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  18. ↑ "Heshiis la dhex-dhigay beelo ku dagaalamay Ceel-Afweyn". badweyntimes.net. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  19. ↑ "Ceel-Afweyn: Wasaaradda Deegaanka Oo Qabatay Dhir Qoyan Oo La Soo Jaray". Hargeisa Press. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  20. ↑ Ivanova, Lyubov. "The Somali-Soviet Expedition of 1971–1972". Archived from the original on 16 January 2021.
  21. ↑ Rodríguez, Jorge de Torres (2018). "Against All Odds: The History of Archaeological Research in Somaliland and Somalia". Northeast African Studies. 18 (1–2): 271–310. doi:10.14321/nortafristud.18.1-2.0271. hdl:10261/216289. ISSN 0740-9133. JSTOR 10.14321/nortafristud.18.1-2.0271.
  22. ↑ Dev, Bradt Guides. "Maduna ruins". Bradt Guides. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 Briggs, Philip (2012). Somaliland : with Addis Ababa & Eastern Ethiopia. Chalfont St. Peter, Bucks, England: Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 128–129. ISBN 978-1-84162-371-9. OCLC 766336307.
  24. 1 2 "Somaliland: archaeology in a breakaway state | Sada Mire". Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  25. ↑ Redman, Nigel (9–27 September 2012). "DJIBOUTI & SOMALILAND" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 February 2021.
  26. ↑ A Self-portrait of Somaliland: Rebuilding from the Ruins. Somaliland Centre for Peace and Development. 1999.
  27. ↑ "Somaliland: Conflict of El-Afwayn disrupts education for hundreds of children". Horn Diplomat. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  28. ↑ "Aadan Abokor Qoorsheel". Aadan Abokor Qoorsheel (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  29. ↑ "NUGAAL P&I SCHOOLS". NUGAAL P&I SCHOOLS (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  30. ↑ "Regions, districts, and their populations: Somalia 2005 (draft)" (PDF). United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. United Nations Development Programme. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  31. ↑ "EASO Country of Origin Information Report Somalia – Security Situation" (PDF). European Asylum Support Office: 72. February 2016. The Ceel Afweyn district is mainly inhabited by the Isaaq subclan Habar Jeelo.
  32. 1 2 "S/2018/800 – Security Council Report" (PDF). United Nations Security Council: 4. 30 August 2018.
  33. ↑ "Wiilashii Soomaalida oo guul wayn Yurub uga soo hooyay Maaradoonka Tokyo". BBC News Somali (in Somali). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
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