Af Urur is a town in the

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 ...

state 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 ...

, located on the

Golis Mountains The Golis Mountains (Golis range, ) are a mountain range in Somaliland. Also known as ''Qar Golis'', they cut through the Togdheer region, and end near the Gan Libah. The original meaning of Golis Mountains is a mountain range near Golis mounta ...

, somewhat far from

Bosaso Bosaso (, ), historically known as Bender Qassim is a city in the northeastern Bari province ('' gobol'') of Somalia. It is the seat of the Bosaso District. Located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden, the municipality serves as the region ...

, but its exact location is not known. The settlement is placed at a strategically important location, and has thus become strongly contested during the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

. One of the most prominent clans in the village are the Tiinle.

History

Promixal to the al-Shabaab-controlled Galgala hills, the village has been attacked and captured by the militant group several times. Af Urur contains a camp for a contingent of the Darawish

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

group, which have been fighting al-Shabab. In June 2017, Af Urur was the site of an attack by al-Shabaab militants against a Somali military encampment, leading to between 20 and 70 deaths. It was one of the deadliest al-Shabaab attacks in Puntland. Al-Shabaab again attacked and fully occupied the village on 20 July 2018. Af Urur was subsequently retaken by Puntland's military, but the local garrison retreated on 8 June 2019, allowing al-Shabaab to capture it once again. On 11 June, Darawish troops counterattacked, and restored control over Af Urur.

References

{{reflist Populated places in Somalia Puntland Bari, Somalia