Mogadishu

The name Mogadishu comes from the Persian Maq'ad-i-Shah (مقعد شاه), which means "the place where the shah is." This is a reflection of the early Persian influence on the city. The city is also known as Hamar .

Middle Ages

Even in antiquity, important trade routes ran along the site of Mogadishu. Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula colonized Mogadishu at the end of the 9th century (testimony of Al-Yakubi , 893 ). Soon Mogadishu became a regional center. While most of Somalia's lands are barren, the lands around Mogadishu are more suitable for agriculture and can feed more residents. It is also the northernmost point in East Africa , where there is a convenient natural bay .

Starting from about 1000, the volume of trade between Swahili cities of coastal East Africa increased, which favorably affected the economy of the city. The historical mosque of Farh ad-Din, built in 1269 , has been preserved to this day.

During archaeological excavations , many coins were found from China , Sri Lanka and Vietnam . Most coins belong to the Song Dynasty . At that time, the city-states of Swahili civilization imported Arab pottery, Chinese porcelain, and Indian clothing. Exported wood , ivory , mother of pearl , slaves and iron .

European domination

In the 1500s, Mogadishu was controlled by Portugal . In the Atlas of Mercator - Hondius (1607) Mogadishu appears under the name Magadoxo.

The Sultan of Zanzibar captured the city in 1871 . Garesa Palace, built in the late 1800s for the governor of the Sultan, now serves as a museum and library.

In 1892, the Sultan of Zanzibar gave the city to Italy . Italy bought the city in 1905 and made Mogadishu the capital of Italian Somalia . The adjacent territories came under Italian control in 1936 .

The armed forces of Great Britain , moving from Kenya during World War II , occupied the city on February 26, 1941 . The British continued to rule the city until 1952 , when Italy returned its former protectorate. In 1954, the Somali National University was founded, consisting of seven faculties (medical, veterinary, geological, pedagogical, legal, agronomic and humanitarian). In 1960, Somalia gained independence, and Mogadishu became its capital. Documentary shots of 1963 have been preserved, capturing the image of a peaceful capital on the eve of civil wars: Somali University immersed in greenery, the Catholic Cathedral (at that time the largest in Africa), cheerful beauties in bright dresses made of delicate materials ...

The overthrow of the government and the deployment of UN troops

Rebel troops led by Mohammed Farrah Aydid entered the city and captured it in 1990 , forcing President Mohammed Siad Barre to resign and flee to Nigeria in 1991 . The university was closed.

In the fierce battles of 1991-1992 , a significant part of the city was destroyed, tens of thousands of hungry people, driven by drought, began to devastate rural areas of Somalia.

On December 9, 1992, the US military contingent landed near Mogadishu to prepare for the landing of the UN peacekeeping force . The peacekeeping operation in Somalia, however, ended in failure due to the fact that in the summer of 1993, UN troops began to directly participate in the civil war. Discontent of the local population and human losses forced American troops to leave Mogadishu in 1994 , and on March 3, 1995, the last peacekeepers from other countries left Somalia. In June 1995, Aidid proclaimed himself President of Somalia, but a year later he was seriously wounded in battle and died.

Islamic Courts Union and Ethiopian Invasion

In 2004, the so-called Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was created in Somalia, which was recognized by the United Nations and the African Union as legitimate. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was elected President. The new line of confrontation has been the struggle between the Transitional Government and the growing Islamic organization Union of Islamic Courts (ICU).

In 2006, new battles for Mogadishu took place. On June 5, 2006, the SIS units completely captured the city, and the Transitional Government fled to Baidabo . However, on December 20, 2006, Ethiopia openly intervened in the conflict on the side of the TFG. The Ethiopian army was more numerous and better armed, and on December 27 the Ethiopians and the union of field commanders recaptured Mogadishu from the Islamists. As a result of the Ethiopian intervention, SIS ceased to exist, but it was replaced by an even more radical organization, Kharakat al-Shabab , which switched to guerrilla methods of struggle against Ethiopians and government forces.

In early August 2007, AMISOM peacekeepers arrived in Mogadishu, their numbers gradually increased and by 2012 reached 12,000.

In January 2009, Ethiopians withdrew their troops from Mogadishu and the rest of Somalia.

The Fight between the TFG and Al-Shabab

In 2007-2011, the city was an arena of struggle between the Transitional Federal Government with the support of Ethiopian troops (until 2009), together with peacekeepers from the African Union and radical Wahhabis from the Al-Shabab organization (Youth). For a long time, the government controlled only important strategic buildings (the Government building, airport, port, etc.) and not more than 40% of the capital, while the Islamists controlled most of Mogadishu, constantly carrying out terrorist attacks and shelling of government forces and peacekeepers .

In the 1990s-2000s, Mogadishu was the only capital in the world where the UN could not provide international humanitarian assistance due to the lack of security guarantees.

In March 2010, the commander of the city, Abdurisak Mohamed Nur, urged all residents of the capital to hurry to leave the city due to new clashes between the Islamist militants Al-Shabab and supporters of the moderate Islamic government Sharif Ahmed ^[2] . Since the beginning of 2010, about 100,000 inhabitants ^{[ specify ]} left the city. Wahhabis sentenced in absentia to death by the announcers of the Somali TV.

For some time, the Islamists were close to the complete capture of the capital, however, an increase in the number of peacekeeping contingents, an increase in their experience in conducting military operations in urban conditions, as well as an increase in the number of government troops, changed the situation.

Developing success gradually, by August 2011, AMISOM and government forces completely liberated Mogadishu from the Islamists. However, the neighborhood of the city is still in the hands of Al-Shabab, which is making active attempts to regain lost ground.

On October 4, 2011, a major terrorist act took place in the city, as a result of which over 100 people were killed.

In August 2011, AMISOM peacekeepers managed to establish control over the entire city, driving radical Islamists out of the city of al-Shabab . The city is currently controlled by African Union peacekeepers and government forces. However, in Mogadishu the probability of terrorist attacks is still high, the positions of peacekeepers are often attacked by sabotage groups ^[3] . At the same time, it can be stated that security in the city at the end of 2011-2012 increased significantly compared to the previous period of the civil war. As a result of the relative provision of the city with food due to the activities of humanitarian organizations, many starving Somalis from rural areas are moving to Mogadishu. So, by May 2011, the urban population increased from 1.8 million to 2 million inhabitants in just 8 months ^[4] . Currently, the city is a fortress, which consists of numerous roadblocks and fortifications built by peacekeepers and interconnected by guarded roads.

Mogadishu is located on the coast of the Indian Ocean at an altitude of 9 m above sea level ^[5] .

The Weby-Shabelle River , flowing from Ethiopia , runs close to the city at a distance of 30 km from the Indian Ocean and turns southwest. The river, which usually dries in February and March, is used to irrigate sugar cane , cotton, and banana plantations.

Mogadishu has a semi-dry subequatorial climate , with low rainfall, which, moreover, varies greatly from year to year (429 mm). The annual difference in air temperature is very small: August (the coolest month) is three degrees cooler than April. Hot all year round. The dominant rainy season (April - August), the secondary rainy season (September - December) and the dry season (January - March) are expressed. In the dry season, precipitation is excluded. The highest recorded temperature was +36 ° C (April), and the lowest +15 ° C (July).

• Hammawain Old Town
• Bakaar Market
• Beaches of the former resort of Gezira

• Act of terrorism in Mogadishu on December 3, 2009

• Gusterin P.V. Cities of the Arab East. - M .: East-West, 2007 .-- 352 p. - (Encyclopedic reference book). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-478-00729-4 .

• Mogadishu