Kamboni

Kamboni gaaljecel
كامبوني gaaljecel
Kamboni gaaljecel is located in Somalia
Kamboni gaaljecel
Kamboni gaaljecel
Location in Somalia
Coordinates: 1°38′S 41°35′E / 1.633°S 41.583°E / -1.633; 41.583
Country Somalia
State Jubaland
RegionJubbada Hoose
DistrictBadhaadhe
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)

Kamboni (Arabic: كامبوني; Somali: Kambooni) is a town in the Badhaadhe district of Lower Juba region, Somalia, which lies on a peninsula near the border with Kenya. It is the southernmost town in Somalia. The tip of that peninsula is called Ras Kamboni (Cape Kamboni). The town is located 274 kilometers south of Kismayo. The Town population is 79,000.[1] American officials have said that it has served as a training camp for extremists with connections to Al-Qaeda; al-Sharq al-Awsat reported in May 1999 that al-Qaeda was installing sophisticated communications equipment in the camp.[2][3]

US security concerns in the Horn of Africa, particularly at Kamboni, heightened after the attacks on 9/11. On December 16, 2001, Paul Wolfowitz said the US was meeting with various Somali and Ethiopian contacts to "observe, survey possible escape routes, possible sanctuaries" for Al Qaeda operatives.[4] On March 2, 2002 a briefing was held in the Pentagon discussing the possible use of Kamboni by Islamic terrorist groups, including al-Ittihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI) and Al Qaeda.[5] In December 2002, the US established the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) to monitor developments in the region and to train local militaries on counterterrorism.[6]

American officials believe that several terrorist attacks were orchestrated from Kamboni, including the 1998 United States embassy bombings and the 2002 Mombasa hotel bombing.[7]

  1. ^ "Kamboni to Kismayo". Archived from the original on 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  2. ^ "CBS: U.S. Strikes Al Qaeda In Somalia". CBS News. 2007-01-08. Archived from the original on 2008-11-06. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  3. ^ "Night Falls on Mogadishu". The Weekly Standard. 2006-07-03. Archived from the original on 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  4. ^ Reeve, Simon (2001-12-16). "U.S. returning to a nightmare called Somalia". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2007-01-02. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  5. ^ Terrorist Threat in Horn of Africa Archived 2020-03-19 at the Wayback Machine US Department of State
  6. ^ Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Archived 2007-01-11 at the Wayback Machine globalsecurity.org
  7. ^ Abdi Abdi, " The Talibanisation of Somalia", Ethiopian News Agency, 12 July 2006[dead link‍]