Beledweyne

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The Center of Belet Weyne 1993

Bridge over the Shebelle River in the westside of Belet Weyne

Beledweyne (also transliterated as Belet Uen or Belet Weyne) is a city in 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: October (Bundo-weyn), Howlwadaag, Koshin, and Hawa-tako. The Shabelle valley 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.

Until recently, the town had been the base of operations of the self-proclaimed governor of Hiraan, Yusuf Ahmed Hagar (also known as Yusuf Mohamud Hagar and "Daba-Ged" or "Dabageed"^[1]). 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.^[2]^[3] 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 Hilawle was nominated as assistant administrator.^[4]

[edit] Clan strife

The eastern part of the town is dominated by the Hawadle (Xawadle) while the west is dominated by the Jijeele clan. Hawadle clan is the majority and controls of the town.

In June 2005, fighting between the Galje'el and Jajele subclans 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.^[5]

There were also reprisal killings of suspected Islamists following the December 2006 Battle of Beledweyne.^[6]

[edit] Military history

It is considered a strategic city due to its location.

During the 1970s, Beledweyne was a staging area for the Western Somalia 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).