Ra'as Aseir () formerly known as Gardafu is a region in north-east of

Puntland Puntland is an autonomous state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of Somalia's current governing administration. It was formed in 1998, and was a federal member state of Somalia from its fou ...

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 an administrative province of

created in 2013 that was carved out of the Bari Province. It is named after Marinka Gardafu (

Guardafui Channel The Guardafui Channel (, ) is an oceanic strait off the tip of the Horn of Africa that lies between the Puntland region of Somalia and the Socotra governorate of Yemen to the west of the Arabian Sea. It connects the Gulf of Aden to the north ...

). Most locals work as fisherman along the coast, and it home to the largest date farm in Somalia In the city of geesaley. The province capital is

Aluula Alula (, ), also spelled Aluula, is a coastal town in the northeastern Ra'as Aseir region and is part of the state of Puntland, on the coast of the Guardafui Channel. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it served as the main capital of the ...

a coastal town with an extensive mangrove forest.

is also the northernmost point in Somalia. The districts of Aluula and qandala export many goods through the Port of Bosaso, Frankensense,

Myrrh Myrrh (; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the '' Commiphora'' genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used ...

, Iivestock,

Salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

Dates Date or dates may refer to: * Date, the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') * Jujube, also known as red date or Chinese date, the fruit of ''Ziziphus jujuba'' Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activit ...

, and figs. The trade of these commodities is the main source of economic activity in the region. Over the years there have been increased levels of human trafficking to Yemen through Somalia by Ethiopian migrants particularly in the Qandala and Bosaso districts but increased activity by the

Puntland Maritime Police Force The Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) is a security force based in Puntland, an autonomous region in northeastern Somalia. As of May 2024, the PMPF had around 4800 personnel. The force is eventually expected to comprise 10,000 personnel. Ac ...

has hindered human trafficking in the region.

Overview

On July 20, 2013, the Puntland Parliament approved Gardafuul to become the ninth province of Puntland. At the same time, representatives of Gardafuul were appointed as the Third Deputy Secretary of Security and the Deputy Secretary of Justice of Puntland. Its capital is

Alula The alula , or bastard wing, (plural ''alulae'') is a small projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds and a few non-avian dinosaurs. The word is Latin and means "winglet"; it is the diminutive of ''ala'', meaning "wing". The a ...

and its governor is Musse Salah. On July 20, 2023 The Parliament of Puntland has conducted a vote resulting in the decision to change the name of a province. Consequently, the former province known as Gardafu has been officially renamed as Ra'as Aseir.

References

{{Provinces of Puntland , state=expanded Regions of Puntland Puntland

Overview

See also

References