# Xarardheere (Harardhere)

> Xarardheere (Harardhere): Mudug town in Galmudug, a piracy base around 2008 to 2012, held by al-Shabaab until January 2023.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/regions/harardhere/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Where it is

Xarardheere is the capital of Xarardheere district in the [Mudug](/en/regions/mudug/) region, in [Galmudug](/en/states/galmudug/) state ([Wikipedia: Harardhere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harardhere)). It lies at about 4.65°N, 47.86°E, roughly 210 m above sea level, inland from the Indian Ocean coast between [Hobyo](/en/regions/hobyo/) and the Middle [Shabelle](/en/economy/farming-and-harvests/) coast ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q598676)). The Italian spelling was Harardera ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q598676)).

## People

A 2005 UNDP estimate put the population at about 65,500 ([UNDP 2005, via Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harardhere); [UNDP 2005 table](https://web.archive.org/web/20170728203029/https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Somalia/UNDP-POP-RURAL-URBAN%202005.pdf)). As in most of Galmudug, most people are from the Hiraab branch of the Hawiye ([Wikipedia: Harardhere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harardhere)). Historian Lee Cassanelli lists Xarardheere with El Dher as farming centres of the [Hiraab Imamate](/en/history/sultanate-of-mogadishu/) that grew sorghum and beans alongside herds of camels, cattle, goats and sheep ([Wikipedia: Hobyo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobyo), quoting Cassanelli).

People recorded as coming from Xarardheere include [Abdirashid Ali Shermarke](/en/people/abdirashid-ali-shermarke/), Somalia's second president; [Daud Abdulle Hirsi](/en/people/daud-abdulle-hirsi/), the first commander of the [Somali Armed Forces](/en/institutions/somali-national-army/); [Mohamed Abshir Muse](/en/people/mohamed-abshir-muse/), the first [Somali Police Force](/en/institutions/somali-police-force/) commander; and General [Salaad Gabeyre Kediye](/en/people/salaad-gabeyre-kediye/) ([Wikipedia: Harardhere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harardhere)).

## Piracy years

From about 2008 Xarardheere was one of the main bases of piracy off Somalia. Reports from that time describe a share market in the town where investors bought and sold stakes in planned hijackings ([Wikipedia: Piracy off the coast of Somalia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy_off_the_coast_of_Somalia)). Some residents told reporters in 2008 that pirate spending had brought jobs and trade to the town ([Wikipedia: Piracy off the coast of Somalia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy_off_the_coast_of_Somalia)).

When [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/) forces pushed pirate groups out of Eyl and Garacad, the groups were reported to operate mainly from Hobyo, El Danaan and Xarardheere ([Wikipedia: Piracy off the coast of Somalia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy_off_the_coast_of_Somalia)). In May 2010 the [Hizbul Islam](/en/institutions/hizbul-islam/) militia briefly took the town and a commander said it would end piracy there. [Al-Shabaab](/en/history/al-shabaab/) was later reported to demand 20% of future ransoms from pirate leaders in Xarardheere ([Wikipedia: Piracy off the coast of Somalia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy_off_the_coast_of_Somalia)). A 2017 report named a "Hobyo-Haradhere piracy network" ([Wikipedia: Piracy off the coast of Somalia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy_off_the_coast_of_Somalia)).

## Al-Shabaab control and recapture

Al-Shabaab controlled the town from at least 2012 to 2023 ([Wikipedia: Harardhere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harardhere)). In 2018 a US airstrike on a camp outside the town was reported to have killed about 60 fighters ([Military Times, Oct 2018](https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/10/17/us-airstrike-wiped-out-al-shabab-camp-in-somalia-intel-officials-say/)). On 16 January 2023 the Somali Armed Forces retook Xarardheere during the offensive in central Somalia ([Wikipedia: Harardhere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harardhere)).

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Harardhere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harardhere)
- [Wikipedia: Piracy off the coast of Somalia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy_off_the_coast_of_Somalia)
- [Wikidata Q598676](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q598676)
- [UNDP 2005 rural and urban population estimates](https://web.archive.org/web/20170728203029/https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Somalia/UNDP-POP-RURAL-URBAN%202005.pdf)
- [Military Times, Oct 2018](https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/10/17/us-airstrike-wiped-out-al-shabab-camp-in-somalia-intel-officials-say/)

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