Adale ( so, Cadale; it, Adalei or Itala), also known as Cadaley, is a coastal town in the southern
Middle Shabelle (Shabeellaha Dhexe) region of
Somalia.
History
Adale was mentioned in the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, written by an anonymous writer who lived in the first century AD when Egypt was occupied by the Romans. Adale then appeared in the reports of
Ibn Batuta and other explorers from Andulus. When the trade between East Africa, Arabia, and India boomed in the 1700s-1800s, Adale became the farthest point of the 10-mile strip of the Benadir Coast in which Zanzibar’s Omani rulers claimed. The strip included Adale, Warsheikh, Mogadishu, Marka, Baraawe, and Kismayo – all the way to Zanzibar. The ruins of
Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar's fort can be found in the Adale.
During the pre-independence period in
Italian Somaliland, the city was chosen by
Vincenzo Filonardi as the headquarters of his newly created "Somalia italiana". There was fierce anti-colonial resistance to this in Adale and around the surrounding areas that left 40
Abgaal
Abgaal (Somali: Abgaal, Arabic: أبغال) is a subclan of the Hawiye and the even larger Samaale clan. It is one of the major Somali clans and has produced many prominent historical Somali figures including 3 presidents, and the father of t ...
men and 7 Italian men dead commemorated by a monument in Adale.
On 3 October 2014 the town was liberated from the jihadist terrorist group
Al-Shabaab by the
Somalia National Army and
AMISOM
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union with the approval of the United Nations Security Council. It was mandated to support transitional governmental structures, implem ...
forces. Al-Shabaab had occupied the town for several years. According to AMISOM-sources Al-Shabaab did not mount any resistance because they had lost support from the public in Adale.
[See]
Somalia National Army and AMISOM forces liberate Adale town in Middle Shabelle region
AMISOM Press Statement, 3 Oct. 2014. Accessed on 6 October 2014.
Demographics
Adale has a population of around 14,600 inhabitants.
The broader
Adale District has a total population of 46,720 residents.
It is inhabited by
Abgaal
Abgaal (Somali: Abgaal, Arabic: أبغال) is a subclan of the Hawiye and the even larger Samaale clan. It is one of the major Somali clans and has produced many prominent historical Somali figures including 3 presidents, and the father of t ...
.
See also
*
Mogadishu-Villabruzzi Railway
Notes
References
Adale
Populated places in Middle Shabelle
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