Kismaayo

Kismayo Kismaayo كيسمايو
City
Overview of Kismayo
Kismayo Location in Somalia
Coordinates: 00°21′29″S 042°32′43″E / 0.35806°S 42.54528°E / -0.35806; 42.54528Coordinates: 00°21′29″S 042°32′43″E / 0.35806°S 42.54528°E / -0.35806; 42.54528
Country	Somalia
Regional State	Jubaland
Region	Lower Juba
District	District
Area
• Total	42 km2 (16 sq mi)
Population
• Total	760'000
Time zone	EAT (UTC+3)

Kismayo (Somali: Kismaayo; Arabic: كيسمايو‎‎, Kīsmāyū; Italian: Chisimaio) 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 town is situated 528 kilometres (328 miles) southwest of Mogadishu, near the mouth of the Jubba River, where the waters empty into the Indian Ocean. According to the UNDP the city of Kismayo has a population of around 166,667 in 2005.

From 1836 until 1861, Kismayo and other parts of Jubaland were claimed by the Sultanate of Muscat (now in Oman) and the Geledi Sultanate, and were later incorporated into British East Africa. In 1925, Jubaland was ceded to Italy, forming a part of Italian Somaliland. On 1 July 1960, the region, along with the rest of Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland, became part of the independent republic of Somalia.

Kismayo was later the site of numerous battles during the civil war. In late 2006, Islamist militants gained control of most of the city. To reclaim possession of the territory, a new autonomous regional administration dubbed Azania was announced in 2010 and formalized in 2011. In September 2012, the Somali National Army and AMISOM troops re-captured the city from the Al-Shabaab insurgents. The Juba Interim Administration was subsequently officially established and recognized in 2013.