Jilib is a city in the

Middle Juba Middle Juba (, , ) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somalia, gobol'') in southern Somalia. With its capital at Bu'aale, it is located in the States and regions of Somalia, autonomous Jubaland region. Middle Juba is bord ...

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 currently serves as the ''de facto'' capital of the

Islamic Emirate of Somalia The Islamic Emirate of Somalia refers to the territories in Somalia under the control and governance of al-Shabaab, which had declared its territory as an Islamic emirate in 2008. It aimed at controlling and governing Somalia, although it remaine ...

controlled by al-Shabaab. Jilib has an estimated population of around 100,000 inhabitants and covers an area of about 10 square kilometres. It is north of Kismaayo.

History

During the Middle Ages, Jilib and its surrounding area was part of the

Ajuran Empire The Ajuran Sultanate (, ), natively referred to as Ajuuraan, and often simply Ajuran/Ajur, was a Muslim empire in the Horn of Africa that thrived from the late medieval and early modern period. Founded by Somali Sultans its rise to prominence ...

that governed much of southern

and eastern

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, with its domain extending from

Hobyo Hobyo (; ) is an ancient port city in Galmudug state in the north-central Mudug region of Somalia. Hobyo was founded as a coastal outpost by the Ajuran Empire during the 13th century.Lee V. Cassanelli, ''The shaping of Somali society: reconstru ...

in the north, to Qelafo in the west, to

Kismayo Kismayo (, , ; ) is a port city in the southern Lower Juba (Jubbada Hoose) province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region. The city is situated southwest of the capital Mogadishu, near the mouth of the Jub ...

in the south.Lee V. Cassanelli, ''The shaping of Somali society: reconstructing the history of a pastoral people, 1600-1900'', (University of Pennsylvania Press: 1982), p.102. In the early modern period, Jilib was ruled by the

Geledi Sultanate The Sultanate of the Geledi (, ) also known as the Gobroon dynasty,Somali Sultanate: The Geledi City-state Over 150 Years - Virginia Luling (2002) Page 229 was a Somali people, Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the late ...

. The kingdom was eventually incorporated into

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

in 1910 after the death of the last Sultan

Osman Ahmed Osman Ahmed (; died early 1920s) was a Somali ruler. He was the fifth and final Sultan of the Geledi Sultanate. Osman Ahmed is considered less illustrious than his predecessors and Gobroon power weakened considerably under his rule. He was the so ...

. After independence in 1960, the city was made the center of the official

Jilib District Jilib District () is a district in the southern Middle Juba (Jubbada Dhexe) region of Somalia. Its capital lies at Jilib Jilib is a city in the Middle Juba region of Somalia. It currently serves as the ''de facto'' capital of the Islamic Emirat ...

. 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 ...

was defeated there in the

Battle of Jilib The Battle of Jilib took place on the last day of 2006 during the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia. It was fought when Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) troops and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) militia launched an offensive on the t ...

(December 2006 – January 2007). The ICU recaptured the town on May 17, 2008. The city has a National Park called Jilib national park. It is the largest

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

in the

region of

, at around 950km square kilometres in area.

Somali Civil War

Jilib is controlled by Al-Shabaab, a

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism for modern, armed militant Political aspects of Islam, Islamic movements that seek to Islamic state, establish states based on Islamic principles. In a narrower sense, it refers to the belief that armed confrontation ...

fundamentalist group based in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

with links to

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

. The town functions as the capital of the

Notes

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Middle Juba