# Jamaame (Jamame, Giamama)

> Jamaame (Jamame): farming town on the lower Jubba in Lower Juba, 53 km from Kismaayo, held by al-Shabaab since 2014.

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

## Where it is

Jamaame is the centre of Jamaame district in the [Lower Juba](/en/regions/lower-juba/) region of [Jubaland](/en/states/jubaland/) ([Wikipedia: Jamame](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamame)). It lies between the Indian Ocean to the east and the farmland along the [Jubba River](/en/regions/jubba-river/) to the west, 53 km from the port of Kismaayo ([Wikipedia: Jamame](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamame)). The equator passes over the town, at about 0.07°N, 42.75°E and 10 m above sea level ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1017154)). Jamaame airstrip is about 1 km south of the town ([Wikipedia: Jamame](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamame)).

Under Italian rule the town was called Giamama, and earlier Villaggio Regina Margherita ([Wikipedia: Jamame](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamame)).

## People and farming

The UNDP estimated the population at about 129,149 in 2005 ([UNDP 2005](https://web.archive.org/web/20170728203029/https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Somalia/UNDP-POP-RURAL-URBAN%202005.pdf)). Many farms surround the town ([Wikipedia: Jamame](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamame)). The lower Jubba valley is described as the most fertile part of Somalia, growing maize, sesame, beans and fruit, and in the past bananas for export ([Wikipedia: Jubba River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubba_River); [Wikipedia: Shebelle River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebelle_River)). A 2015 letter from the town described daily life there under al-Shabaab ([Horseed Media, 2015](https://horseedmedia.net/2015/08/18/somalia-a-letter-from-jamaame/)).

## Who controls it

[Al-Shabaab](/en/history/al-shabaab/) has controlled Jamaame since 2014 ([Wikipedia: Jamame](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamame)). Kismaayo, the capital of Jubaland, is held by Jubaland and federal forces ([Lower Juba region page](/en/regions/lower-juba/)).

## Fighting and airstrikes

- **June 2018:** US special forces and al-Shabaab fighters clashed near Jamaame, and one American soldier was killed ([New York Times, June 2018](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/world/africa/american-soldier-killed-somalia-.html)).
- **US strikes:** the [US Africa Command](/en/institutions/us-military-in-somalia/) has announced airstrikes on al-Shabaab targets in the Jamaame area ([AFRICOM press release](https://www.africom.mil/pressrelease/36039/us-forces-conduct-strikes-targeting-al-shabaab)).
- **15 November 2025:** The Guardian reported that a US airstrike in Jamaame killed at least 12 civilians, eight of them children. A resident said a school and at least 18 homes were destroyed. The paper reported it as the largest number of civilians killed by a single US action in Somalia in 18 years, and that no investigation appeared to have taken place ([The Guardian, June 2026](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jun/16/somalia-us-trump-war-alshabaab-islamists-drone-airstrikes-civilian-deaths-children)).

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Jamame](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamame)
- [Wikidata Q1017154](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1017154)
- [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)
- [The Guardian, US strikes and civilian deaths in Somalia, June 2026](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jun/16/somalia-us-trump-war-alshabaab-islamists-drone-airstrikes-civilian-deaths-children)
- [New York Times, American soldier killed in Somalia, June 2018](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/world/africa/american-soldier-killed-somalia-.html)

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