Guriel (, , جوري عيل ) is the second largest city in the central

Galguduud Galguduud (, , or ''Ghelgudud'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') of Galmudug state in central Somalia. Its administrative capital is Dusmareb. The largest town in the region is El Buur, which lies at the centre of the region. Galgudu ...

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 ...

located in

Galmudug Galmudug (; ), officially Galmudug State of Somalia (), is a States and regions of Somalia, Federal Member State in central Somalia, with its capital at Dhusamareb. It is bordered to the north by the Puntland state of Somalia, to the west by the S ...

state. The city serves as the capital of the Guriel District.

Conflict

This city has been in conflict since the fall of the former Somali government in 1991. In 2006, the

Islamic Courts Union The Islamic Courts Union () was a legal and political organization founded by Mogadishu-based Sharia courts during the early 2000s to combat the lawlessness stemming from the Somali Civil War. By mid-to-late 2006, the Islamic Courts had expanded ...

(ICU), a militant Islamic organization, took control of most of central Somalia.

Transitional Federal Government of Somalia The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) (, , ) was internationally recognized as a provisional government of the Somalia from 14 October 2004 until 20 August 2012. It was established in Nairobi, Kenya, following the Transitional National Govern ...

, supported by Ethiopia, defeated the ICU in late 2006. In 2007, Al-Shabaab, another Islamic extremist group born in southern Somalia, attacked Guriel, but the local paramilitary group

Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a (ASWJ) () is a Somalia-based paramilitary group consisting of moderate Sufis opposed to radical Salafism. The group opposes extremist interpretations of Islam, as well as laws banning music and khat. The group seeks to pr ...

(ASWJ), born in response, took control of Guriel in 2010. However, the conflict between ASWJ and Al-Shabaab did not stop after that, and the Ethiopian army also intervened in the conflict. In addition to that,

, a regional government created in central Somalia, joined the conflict in the name of Somali government forces. In October 2021, another battle broke out between ASWJ and Galmudug, displacing most of the inhabitants of Guriel (5,000 houses, 20,000 people). Both the main hospital and the community hospital were destroyed by fire and shelling. By the end of the year, an estimated 120 people had died in this recent spate of fighting.

References

External links

Guriel, Galgaduud, Somalia
Populated places in Galguduud Populated places in Somalia Galmudug Cities in Somalia {{Somalia-geo-stub