# Qoryooley (Qoryoley)

> Qoryooley (Qoryoley): Lower Shabelle farming town 123 km south-west of Mogadishu, in South West State.

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

## Where it is

Qoryooley ([Maay](/en/society/maay-language/): Qornyooley; Italian: Coriolei) is in the [Lower Shabelle](/en/regions/lower-shabelle/) region of [South West State](/en/states/south-west-state/), 123 km south-west of Mogadishu and 23 km west of the coastal town of Marka ([Wikipedia: Qoryoley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qoryoley)). It lies at about 1.78°N, 44.53°E and 62 m above sea level ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2054709)), in the irrigated farmland of the lower [Shabelle River](/en/regions/shabelle-river/).

The town is said to be named after Ahmed Qoryoley, who founded it before independence ([Wikipedia: Qoryoley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qoryoley)).

## People

Population estimates vary by year and source:

- 2000: about 62,700 ([Wikipedia: Qoryoley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qoryoley))
- 2005: the UNDP rural and urban estimate ([UNDP 2005](https://web.archive.org/web/20170728203029/https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Somalia/UNDP-POP-RURAL-URBAN%202005.pdf))
- 2006: about 51,720 ([Wikipedia: Qoryoley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qoryoley))
- 2022: about 120,000, of whom 75% were Garre and 25% from other groups ([Wikipedia: Qoryoley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qoryoley))
- 2024: 134,205 in Qoryooley district ([Wikipedia: Qoryoley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qoryoley))

The Garre are the largest group in the town ([Wikipedia: Qoryoley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qoryoley)). IOM has published a location report for Qoryooley as part of its community stabilisation work in [Lower Shabelle](/en/infrastructure/k50-airstrip/) ([IOM Somalia, Qoryooley location report](https://somalia.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl1041/files/documents/COSI_Lower%20Shabelle_Location_Report_Qoryooley.pdf)).

## Climate

Qoryooley is hot and dry, with about 296 mm of rain a year. May is the wettest month (65 mm) and February the driest (1 mm). The average temperature is 26°C; March is the hottest month and July the coolest ([Wikipedia: Qoryoley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qoryoley), from [NASA Earth Observations](https://neo.gsfc.nasa.gov/view.php?datasetId=TRMM_3B43M)).

## Since 2014

- **March 2014:** fighting outside the town killed four soldiers and a civilian. On 22 March Ugandan [AMISOM](/en/institutions/amisom/) troops took Qoryooley from al-Shabaab in Operation Eagle ([Garowe Online, 2014](https://web.archive.org/web/20140311152532/http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Somalia-Federal-Govt-AMISOM-troops-clash-with-Al-Shabaab_printer.shtml); [UN photo archive](https://dam.media.un.org/archive/AMISOM-offensive-in-Qoryooley-2AM9LOB8QODK.html)).
- **July 2015:** after al-Shabaab overran a base at [Leego](/en/history/somali-youth-league/) in June, AMISOM left several towns, and al-Shabaab retook Qoryooley on 4 July ([Somalia Newsroom, 2015](https://somalianewsroom.com/2015/07/03/%E2%80%8Banalysis-amisom-vacates-10-towns-in-somalia-amid-al-shabaabs-ramadan-attacks/)).
- **May 2017:** al-Shabaab attacked [Somali National Army](/en/institutions/somali-national-army/) bases near the town ([AllAfrica, 2017](https://allafrica.com/stories/201705140173.html)).
- **2018 to 2020:** attacks on army positions and on the El-Salini base outside the town; an assault with suicide bombers on El-Salini on 19 February 2020 killed between about 20 and 31 people by different counts ([VOA](https://www.voanews.com/a/extremists-attack-african-union-base-in-somalia/4326537.html); [Garowe Online](https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/al-shabaab-kills-over-20-soldiers-in-attack-on-military-base-in-somalia)).
- **2023:** an attack on a base and the district office on 4 July, and an attempt to take the town on 1 September that the army stopped after about two hours ([The Somali Digest](https://thesomalidigest.com/fierce-battle-between-al-shabaab-and-sna-in-qoryoley/)).
- **12 June 2024:** Garre and Jiiddo clan militias fought for more than four hours in the town ([Somali Guardian](https://somaliguardian.com/news/somalia-news/gunfight-between-clan-militias-erupts-in-south-somalias-qoryoley-town-2/)).

## People from Qoryooley

The middle-distance runner [Mukhtar Mohammed](/en/people/mukhtar-mohammed/) and the footballer Abdi Sharif are listed as coming from the town ([Wikipedia: Qoryoley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qoryoley)).

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Qoryoley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qoryoley)
- [Wikidata Q2054709](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2054709)
- [IOM Somalia, Qoryooley location report](https://somalia.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl1041/files/documents/COSI_Lower%20Shabelle_Location_Report_Qoryooley.pdf)
- [Somalia Newsroom, AMISOM leaves 10 towns, 2015](https://somalianewsroom.com/2015/07/03/%E2%80%8Banalysis-amisom-vacates-10-towns-in-somalia-amid-al-shabaabs-ramadan-attacks/)
- [Somali Guardian, clan militia fighting, 2024](https://somaliguardian.com/news/somalia-news/gunfight-between-clan-militias-erupts-in-south-somalias-qoryoley-town-2/)

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