Burhakaba ( Somali : Buurhakaba ) is a town located in the Bay region in Somalia .
30-508: The town takes its name from a big mountain in the city's center. Burhakaba is the second largest town in the Bay region (gobolka Baay in Somali), with a reported population of 360,795. It is 180 km (110 mi) southwest of the capital Mogadishu and 60 km (37 mi) northeast from the regional center Baidoa . Burhakaba administrative district encompasses nearly 400 villages. The town
60-795: A T.B. center and dozens of unregistered pharmacies and clinics. The town experienced cholera epidemics several times that claimed the lives of hundreds of people. Burhakaba has one university and five primary and secondary schools (Dr. Ayub Sheekh Yarow, Amar Binu-Yasir, Zaad, Darulxikma and Albushra) and primary and intermediate schools (Waberi, Hakaba, Aaran, AlxunaynAnd Imamu-Nawawi) as well as dozens of madaris. There are three institutions; Banooda Institute of Science and Technology, Mountain Collage and Najuum international Collage. 2°47′N 44°05′E / 2.783°N 44.083°E / 2.783; 44.083 Bay, Somalia Bay ( Somali : Baay , Arabic : باي , Italian : Bai )
90-477: A lingua franca, which is learned via mass communications, internal migration and urbanization. Baidoa has a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen BSh ), as with much of southern Somalia. By contrast, towns in the northern part of the country generally have a hot arid climate (Köppen BWh ). Baidoa has a large secondary school, from which around 580 pupils graduated per year in 2008. As of 2012, several other high schools were in development. Tertiary education in
120-497: A prime grazing area. Legend states that a bird pecked the ground with its beak and would signal people to come and discover the pristine land. The shrine of Obo Esherow, the patron Sufi mystic/saint of Baidoa, has been honoured for over four centuries. Baidoa and the broader Bay region is home to a number of important ancient sites. Archaeologists have found pre-historic rock art on the city's outskirts, in Buur Heybe. During
150-582: A six region Southwestern Somalia state consisting of the Bay, Bakool, Lower Shabelle , Gedo , Middle Jubba and Lower Jubba provinces. From 2022 to 2023, the region was hit by record-breaking drought. According to the UNDP, the population of Baidoa was 370,000 in 2005. The city is situated at the center of one of the most densely populated areas in the nation. It is an ethnically and culturally diverse town, with many local residents originating from other parts of
180-513: Is an administrative region ( gobol ) in southern Somalia . It is bordered by the Somali regions of Bakool , Hiran , Lower Shebelle (Shabeellaha Hoose), Middle Juba (Jubbada Dhexe), and Gedo . Baidoa used to be the capital of the old Upper Juba region, which today also includes Gedo, Bakool, and most parts of the Middle Juba region. The present regions were created in the 1970s by
210-438: Is estimated to have been settled six centuries ago. Burhakaba is subdivided into several administrative villages: Waaberi, Wadajir and Hoolwadaag. Burhakaba is situated at the coordinates of 2.7991° N, 44.0794° E with an elevation of 196 meters above sea level. It lacks a permanent river, but it does have a large valley known as "Bohol Wiinti" that runs through the town from the north, east, and south-east. After seasonal rainfall,
240-612: The Somali Youth League ; the rest of the city was held by the members of the Hizbiya Digil-Mirifle. With an agro-pastoral economy, common livestock include goats and camels, with the main agricultural produce being sorghum. Pre- civil war Bay state was home to the largest camel population in Somalia, with above 1.3 million camels. Post independence, Baidoa would attract many international projects such as
270-774: The Bay Agricultural Development Project. Baidoa incurred significant damage in the early 1990s, following the start of the civil war . In September 1995, United Somali Congress militia attacked and occupied the town. The Australian contingent of Unified Task Force UNISOM1 , running the Baidoa Humanitarian Relief Sector from January 1993, found themselves dealing primarily with the 'Somali Liberation Army' Duduble sub-clan of Aideed's USC. "They were able to provide an ongoing flow of funds to Aideed in Mogadishu from
300-516: The College of Education, the College of Health and Environmental Sciences, and the College of Jurisprudence. Additionally, an Institute of Social Research is being developed. Plans are also in the works to construct a new campus in an area around 15 km north of Baidoa, as well as two new branches in two other principal cities in the Bay region. Schools: Air transportation in Baidoa is served by
330-859: The Southwestern State was officially dissolved after its leader Shatigadud had joined the Transitional Federal Parliament in November 2004 and later became Minister of Finance in January 2005 in the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the TNG's successor. In early 2005, the TFG sent official delegations to Baidoa and Jowhar to assess the suitability of each city as a temporary headquarters for
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#1732772512109360-543: The TFG against the advancing Islamic Courts Union , initially winning the Battle of Baidoa . On 28 December 2006, the allied forces recaptured the capital from the ICU. The offensive helped the TFG solidify its rule. On 8 January 2007, for the first time since taking office, President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed entered Mogadishu from Baidoa to engage in consultations with local business, religious and civil society representatives as
390-662: The TFG before an eventual relocation of government offices to Mogadishu. In June–July 2005, the Transitional Federal Government established an interim seat in Jowhar due to ongoing insecurity in the capital. To strengthen its presence in the town, the central authorities built an improved airport and inaugurated the Duduble Canal. The TFG later moved its temporary headquarters to Baidoa. In December 2006, Ethiopian troops entered Somalia to assist
420-581: The TFG moved its base to the national capital. Following its defeat, the Islamic Courts Union splintered into several different factions. Some of the more radical elements, including al-Shabaab, regrouped to continue its insurgency against the TFG and oppose the Ethiopian military's presence in Somalia. Throughout 2007 and 2008, Al-Shabaab scored military victories, seizing control of key towns and ports in both central and southern Somalia. At
450-642: The benadir coast to settle in what came to be known as (Buula Benadir) (the Benadir quarter). Menelik II of Ethiopia invaded Baidoa in the late 19th century, but was pushed back under Sultan Osman Ahmed rule. The Italians occupied the city in July 1913. During the British military occupation (1941–1950), the Bardaale Quarter, where Somali clients and employees of the British lived, was the stronghold of
480-524: The city is served by the University of Southern Somalia . After a considerable planning stage, the institution was established in 2007 by a group of Somali scholars and intellectuals. Inaugural classes began the following year, in August 2008. University representatives concurrently announced plans to develop four colleges: the College of Science, Agriculture, and Engineering, the College of Social Science,
510-561: The country. Additionally, Baidoa is the heartland of Maay , an Afro-Asiatic language principally spoken by the Digil and Mirifle ( Rahanweyn ) clans in the southern regions of Somalia. Its speech area extends from the southwestern border with Ethiopia to a region close to the coastal strip between Mogadishu and Kismayo. Maay is not mutually comprehensible with Standard Somali , and it differs considerably in sentence structure and phonology. However, Maay speakers often use Standard Somali as
540-511: The division of population in the Bay region was as follows: 93,046 urban inhabitants, 463,330 rural settlers, 195,986 nomadic and 39,820 internally displaced persons (IDPs), making a total of 792,182. Bay Region consists of five districts: Baidoa Baidoa ( Arabic : بَيْطَبَوْ , Somali (Af-Maxaa): Baydhabo , Maay : Baydhowy ) is the largest city of the South West State of Somalia . Between 2002 and 2014, Baidoa
570-521: The end of 2008, the group had captured Baidoa but not Mogadishu. In February 2012, Somali government forces and allied Ethiopian troops re-captured Baidoa from Al-Shabaab. In December 2013, a convention began in Baidoa between Federal Government officials and local representatives with the aim of establishing an autonomous state in the area under the Provision Federal Constitution . Two simultaneous political processes for
600-416: The establishment of a new Southwestern State of Somalia were underway: one led by former Parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan , which proposed a three region state consisting of the Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle provinces; another led by convention organizer Malaq Ali Shino, former MP Madobe Nunow Mohamed and erstwhile Bay region Governor Abdifatah Geesey, which proposed instead the re-establishment of
630-499: The fact that it has yet to be properly explored. Burhakaba has the strategic advantage of connecting the three regions of Bakool, Hiiraan, and Lower Shabelle. Buurhakaba has a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen BSh ), like most of southern Somalia. The average mean temperature is 26.2 °C or 79.2 °F, but the temperature can reach as high as 43 to 45 °C (109.4 to 113.0 °F) in December and January. By contrast, towns in
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#1732772512109660-453: The highest level of economic activity compared to the other days of the week. There are also modern services such as telecommunications, internet access, and shopping malls. Burhakaba has two hospitals ( Hakaba Referral Hospital and Falsan Medical Center) and three MCHs (BTSC, Geredo MCH, and Burhakaba), which mainly carry nutrition support in a mandated form. Pregnant women in the town do not visit it for antenatal or postnatal care. It also has
690-607: The medieval period, Baidoa was founded and settled by the Madanle clan and many traditions link the Ajuran with a people known to Somalis Madanle (Maaanthinle, Madinle, etc.) who were celebrated well-diggers in southern Somalia. Many traditions ascribe Madanle origins to Baidao and were attributed to stone-built rectangular enclosure in the deep interior so far adequately described. Baidoa is said to have solid stone and mortar walls ruins some four foot six inches high in places. This affirms
720-532: The more stable areas in the south. In 2002, the RRA's leader Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud founded the Southwestern State of Somalia regional administration, with its headquarters in Baidoa. The creation of the autonomous state was a move to show the RRA leadership's disaffection with the nascent Mogadishu -based Transitional National Government , which had been established two years earlier. In 2005,
750-430: The northern part of the country generally have a hot arid climate (Köppen BWh ). Burhakaba is a livestock trading hub due to its strategic location. On Mondays, business people from the surrounding areas come to this town to trade livestock. Agricultural products also contribute significantly to the town's GDP . Over the last ten years, cultivating has shifted from primarily crops to vegetables and fruits. Mondays have
780-470: The proceeds of their activities in the Bay region, while enriching themselves in the process." They remained in control of Baidoa until around January 1996, while the local Rahanweyn Resistance Army militia continued to engage the USC in the town's environs. In 1999, the RRA seized control of the wider Lower Shabelle, Gedo, Bay and Bakool provinces. The town and larger region gradually rebounded to become among
810-671: The then ruling military regime. The capital of Bay is Baidoa . During the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in late December 2006, Bay region witnessed a series of fierce, concurrent battles lasting nine days between the invading Ethiopian military and the Islamic Courts Union . The region is mainly inhabited by the Rahanweyn people. According to the Population Estimation Survey (2014) (282),
840-489: The traditions that Baidoa during Ajuran was a large town and a trading hub center. Baidoa was captured by Sultan Ibrahim Adeer who defeated the Madanle section of Ajuran and expelled them from the region. The city population was eventually replaced by Mirifle and the city reached its golden age under Geledi Sultanate rule. It was crossroads of caravan trade. Baidoa city was surrounded with large walls with one fortified gate. It attracted many merchants and farmers from
870-642: The valley supports farming in the area it drains. The annual rainfall in the town is estimated to be 550 to 620 mm (22 to 24 in). The town is primarily populated by the Eelaay clan, a sub-clan of Rahanweyn . The main language spoken in the town is Maay , the second largest dialect in Somalia. Burhakaba is thought to hold vast mineral and rock reserves, including uranium (in the Aliyow Geele area), iron, aluminum, phosphorus, kaolin, bauxite, granite, marbles, sandstones, crushed rocks, and limestone, despite
900-477: Was the capital of the South West State. In 2014, the capital was changed to Barawa . Baydhabo is the main hub of the Somali inter-riverine region and state capital of Bay Region. It was traditionally known as Baydhabo Jinaay (the heavenly Baydhabo) or ll Baydhabo (the spring of Baydhabo). The city was founded at the edge of the main highlands known as magniafulka where the ll springs originate,
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