Bal'ad District () is one of the districts of
Middle Shabelle region of
Somalia
Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
. It is located about 36 kilometers northeast of the capital city of
Mogadishu
Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...
. Emperor
Menelik II
Menelik II ( ; horse name Aba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 August 1844 – 12 December 1913), baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም ''sahlä maryam'') was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Et ...
attempted to
conquer
Conquer may refer to:
* Conquer (Soulfly album), 2008
* Conquer (Carl Thomas album), 2011
* "Conquer" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead''
See also
*
*Conquistador (disambiguation)
Conquistador is a ...
the area in 1905, and the area faced attacks and occupation by
Al-Shabaab in the 2010s and 2020s.
History
During the spring of 1905, in the last years of
Menelik II's expansions, a force of several thousand Ethiopian horseman armed with rifles pushed into the
Shabelle valley near Balad. Only a day's march from
Mogadishu
Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...
, several clans residing in the region rose up to engage in battles with the invading forces and defeated them.
In December 2021, Balad town was attacked by
Al Shabaab fighters. At least eight people were killed in the fighting. On 9 June, 2022, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a landmine explosion targeting the
Danab Brigade early in the morning on the outskirts of the town, which they claim killed at least 15 soldiers and destroyed one vehicle.
On February 27, 2025, al-Shabaab militants briefly captured Balad after storming a military base located near the town, but after some clashes the settlement was recaptured by the Somali National Army. Though the town ended up in the control of Al-Shabaab by February 28, 2025.
On March 5, 2025, Al-Shabaab used the town as a central hub to continue its insurgency towards Mogadishu.
Infrastructure
From 1974 to 1978, 160 million Somali shillings were spent on irrigation development in Balad.
Economy
In the 1970s the town relied on the cotton textile industry and cotton growing.
See also
*
Somali Civil War (2009–present)
The Somali Civil War (2009–present) (; ) is the List of ongoing military conflicts, ongoing phase of the Somali Civil War which is concentrated in southern and central Somalia. It began in late January 2009 with the present conflict mainly bet ...
Reference
Works cited
*
*
* at
OpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap (abbreviated OSM) is a free, Open Database License, open geographic database, map database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveying, surveys, trace from Ae ...
* at
ReliefWeb
ReliefWeb (RW) is a humanitarian information portal founded in 1996. , it hosts more than one million humanitarian situation reports, press releases, evaluations, guidelines, assessments, maps and infographics. The portal is an independent sourc ...
* at
SWALIM
{{Somalia-geo-stub
Populated places in Middle Shabelle