Jowhar
Encyclopedia
Jowhar is the capital town of the Shabeellaha Dhexe
region
of Somalia
(located at 2°46.8′N 45°30.048′E). Along with Baidoa
, it used to form the joint administrative capital of the Transitional Federal Government
, which captured it from the Islamic Courts Union.
The town lies 90 km (50 mi) along a major road north of the national capital of Mogadishu
. There is also an airport in the northern part of the town.
, H.R.H. Principe
Luigi Amedeo, Duca degli Abruzzi
, who first came to the African continent in 1873 and liked the place. The Duke raised funds to build dams, roads, a railway, schools, hospitals, a church and a mosque
. He eventually married a Somali
woman and died in his village.
founded the eponymous Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi in 1920 as an agricultural settlement in Italian Somalia experimenting with new cultivation techniques. In 1926, the colony comprised 16 villages, with some 3,000 Somali
and 200 Italian
inhabitants.
Situated between the Darod
and the Hawiye
Somali clan strongholds, the area is of strategic importance. It is also of considerable economic value notably due to its banana, cotton and sugar plantations.
From 1911 in Jowhar (formerly Giohar), Italians like the Duca degli Abruzzi
started to take the local farmers and resettle them in specific new villages in an attempt to improve the economy of Italian Somalia. The area around the Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi was the most agriculturally developed of Somalia before World War II
and had some food industries..
In the 1920s, during the construction of a new dam, the Italians forced the local population of the area to resettle, and in the process generated resentment.
In 1940, the Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi (usually known in Italian simply as "Villabruzzi") already had a population of 12,000, of whom nearly 3,000 were Italian Somalians
, and enjoyed a notable level of development as a small manufacturing area.
The Italians, who believed in the economic potential of the region, also built a railway system
that linked Jowhar to Mogadishu
for the next thirty years, and was used mainly to export bananas and coffee to Europe
.
At independence, the vacuum created by the outgoing Italians was not filled by the new Somali élites in charge, as the latter deemed the cattle trade and urban assets more profitable.
Jowhar changed name from the Italian Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi to the actual name in 1960, when Somalia gained its independence.
With a "socialist" regime in 1969, such a fertile land was nationalized and was only available to cultivators through fifty years leases. The government fixed the prices of agricultural products and could purchase up to 80% of the harvests. Under Co-operative Act n°70 of 1973, petty farmers were expropriated again to leave place for the State orientated Fanoole Rice Farm, Mogambo Irrigation Project and Juba Sugar Complex.
Jowhar only became the regional capital in the mid-1980s when Mogadishu was taken out of Shabeellaha Dhexe to form its own region, Banaadir
.
were to form a joint administrative capital of the Transitional Federal Government
, sited away from Mogadishu for security reasons. Continued fighting has threatened to derail the peace process, but in July 2005, transitional president Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
relocated to the town from his base in Bossaso, moving the process forward, and joining transitional Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi
, already resident in the town one month. Part of the parliament became based in Jowhar, while some ministries were established in Mogadishu. By February 2006, despite Ghedi's security concerns http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4667096.stm, the two leaders had left to Baidoa, where it was decided the parliament would meet.
from the Islamic Courts Union.
On May 17, 2009, the Islamist al-Shabab
militia took of the town, and imposed draconian rules, including a ban on handshaking between men and women.
Shabeellaha Dhexe
-Overview:It is bordered by the Somali regions of Galgudud, Hiran, Lower Shebelle, and Banadir, as well as the Indian Ocean.As part of the former Benadir region, Shabeellaha Dhexe's capital was Mogadishu up until the mid-1980s, when the town of Jowhar became the capital...
region
Regions of Somalia
Somalia is officially divided into eighteen administrative regions , which in turn are subdivided into districts. On a de facto basis, northern Somalia is now divided up among the autonomous states of Puntland and Somaliland...
of Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
(located at 2°46.8′N 45°30.048′E). Along with Baidoa
Baidoa
Baidoa is a city in south-central Somalia, situated by road northwest of the capital Mogadishu. It is the capital of the Bay region, which is traditionally inhabited by the Digil and Mirifle clans....
, it used to form the joint administrative capital of the Transitional Federal Government
Transitional Federal Government
The Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...
, which captured it from the Islamic Courts Union.
The town lies 90 km (50 mi) along a major road north of the national capital of Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
. There is also an airport in the northern part of the town.
History
Jowhar was founded by a senior member of the Italian Royal FamilyHouse of Savoy
The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...
, H.R.H. Principe
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
Luigi Amedeo, Duca degli Abruzzi
Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi
Prince Luigi Amedeo Giuseppe Maria Ferdinando Francesco di Savoia-Aosta , Duke of the Abruzzi , was an Italian nobleman, mountaineer and explorer of the royal House of Savoy...
, who first came to the African continent in 1873 and liked the place. The Duke raised funds to build dams, roads, a railway, schools, hospitals, a church and a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
. He eventually married a Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
woman and died in his village.
Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi
As already stated, the Duca degli AbruzziLuigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi
Prince Luigi Amedeo Giuseppe Maria Ferdinando Francesco di Savoia-Aosta , Duke of the Abruzzi , was an Italian nobleman, mountaineer and explorer of the royal House of Savoy...
founded the eponymous Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi in 1920 as an agricultural settlement in Italian Somalia experimenting with new cultivation techniques. In 1926, the colony comprised 16 villages, with some 3,000 Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
and 200 Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
inhabitants.
Situated between the Darod
Darod
The Darod is a Somali clan. The father of this clan is named Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, but is more commonly known as Darod. In the Somali language, the word Daarood means "an enclosed compound," a conflation of the two words daar and ood .The Darod population in Somalia lives principally...
and the Hawiye
Hawiye
The Hawiye is a Somali clan. Members of the clan primarily live in central and southern Somalia, in the Ogaden and the North Eastern Province , and in smaller numbers in other countries. Like many Somalis, Hawiye members trace their ancestry to Irir Samaale...
Somali clan strongholds, the area is of strategic importance. It is also of considerable economic value notably due to its banana, cotton and sugar plantations.
From 1911 in Jowhar (formerly Giohar), Italians like the Duca degli Abruzzi
Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi
Prince Luigi Amedeo Giuseppe Maria Ferdinando Francesco di Savoia-Aosta , Duke of the Abruzzi , was an Italian nobleman, mountaineer and explorer of the royal House of Savoy...
started to take the local farmers and resettle them in specific new villages in an attempt to improve the economy of Italian Somalia. The area around the Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi was the most agriculturally developed of Somalia before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and had some food industries..
In the 1920s, during the construction of a new dam, the Italians forced the local population of the area to resettle, and in the process generated resentment.
In 1940, the Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi (usually known in Italian simply as "Villabruzzi") already had a population of 12,000, of whom nearly 3,000 were Italian Somalians
Italian Somalians
Italian Somalis or Italo Somalis are Somali descendants from Italian colonists, as well as Italian long-term residents in Somalia.- History :...
, and enjoyed a notable level of development as a small manufacturing area.
The Italians, who believed in the economic potential of the region, also built a railway system
Railway Mogadiscio-Villabruzzi
The Mogadiscio-Villabruzzi Railway was the railway of Italian Somaliland, and connected the capital of Somalia with the Shebelle river agricultural areas from 1914 to 1941.-History:...
that linked Jowhar to Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
for the next thirty years, and was used mainly to export bananas and coffee to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
At independence, the vacuum created by the outgoing Italians was not filled by the new Somali élites in charge, as the latter deemed the cattle trade and urban assets more profitable.
After World War II
With a "socialist" regime in 1969, such a fertile land was nationalized and was only available to cultivators through fifty years leases. The government fixed the prices of agricultural products and could purchase up to 80% of the harvests. Under Co-operative Act n°70 of 1973, petty farmers were expropriated again to leave place for the State orientated Fanoole Rice Farm, Mogambo Irrigation Project and Juba Sugar Complex.
Jowhar only became the regional capital in the mid-1980s when Mogadishu was taken out of Shabeellaha Dhexe to form its own region, Banaadir
Banaadir
Banaadir is a region in southeastern Somalia.-Overview:The Somali term Banaadir derives from the original Persian word بندر bandar, meaning "port" or "harbour"...
.
Administrative capital
As part of a 2004 agreement, Jowhar and the town of BaidoaBaidoa
Baidoa is a city in south-central Somalia, situated by road northwest of the capital Mogadishu. It is the capital of the Bay region, which is traditionally inhabited by the Digil and Mirifle clans....
were to form a joint administrative capital of the Transitional Federal Government
Transitional Federal Government
The Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...
, sited away from Mogadishu for security reasons. Continued fighting has threatened to derail the peace process, but in July 2005, transitional president Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed is a veteran Somali politician. He is one of the founders of the Somali Salvation Democratic Front, as well as the Puntland State of Somalia, where he served as the autonomous region's first President...
relocated to the town from his base in Bossaso, moving the process forward, and joining transitional Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi
Ali Mohammed Ghedi
Ali Mohamed Ghedi was the Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia from 2004 to 2007. He was relatively unknown in political circles upon his appointment as prime minister in November 2004. He is affiliated with the Abgaal subclan of Mogadishu's Hawiye clan, one of...
, already resident in the town one month. Part of the parliament became based in Jowhar, while some ministries were established in Mogadishu. By February 2006, despite Ghedi's security concerns http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4667096.stm, the two leaders had left to Baidoa, where it was decided the parliament would meet.
Recent history
On December 27, 2006, the internationally-backed transitional government forces, united with Ethiopian troops, recaptured JowharBattle of Jowhar
The Battle of Jowhar was a battle in the 2006 Somali War fought between the Islamic Courts Union and affiliated militias against Ethiopian and Transitional Federal Government forces for control of the town of Jowhar . It began on December 27, 2006, when retreating ICU forces regrouped near their...
from the Islamic Courts Union.
On May 17, 2009, the Islamist al-Shabab
Al-Shabaab (Somalia)
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen , more commonly known as al-Shabaab , is a terrorist group of militants fighting to overthrow the government of Somalia. As of 2011, the group controls large swathes of the southern parts of Somalia, where it is said to have imposed its own strict form of Sharia law...
militia took of the town, and imposed draconian rules, including a ban on handshaking between men and women.