Awdal

Awdal ( _so. Awdal) is a region in northwestern Somalia. Its capital is Boorama. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Djibouti, the Somali region of Woqooyi Galbeed, and the Gulf of Aden.

Awdal (also spelled Adal or Adel) takes its name from of the ancient empire the Adal Sultanate whose power rose in the 16th Century.

Awdal region is relatively affluent, contrasting the perception of the Horn of Africa as being war-torn and famine-stricken. The chaos of the Somali Civil War and its aftermath has not ravaged this area quite so much as the rest of the country. For example, the residents of Awdal enjoy the region's most advanced telecommunications network, with fairly reliable cell phone service and internet access.Fact|date=February 2007 Additionally, agriculture, mining and industry in the area are all profitable enough to allow a comfortable standard of living for the majority of residents, by Sub-Saharan standards.Fact|date=February 2007 Awdal is also the home of Amoud University.

A modern separatist movement, known as the Awdal Republic [cite web
url=http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/awdal.html
title=Awdal "Republic": Declaration of Independence, [Somalia]
publisher=University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center
accessdate=2007-01-29 ] , sought independence in 1995 when Somalia began to dissolve after the downfall of Mohamed Siad Barre. A Dir-clan dominated movement in Awdal province threatens to push for independence if the Republic of Somaliland is officially recognized. [cite web
title=Somaliland: The Myth of Clan-Based Statehood
url=http://www.somaliawatch.org/archivedec02/021207202.htm
publisher=Somalia Watch
date=2002-12-07
accessdate=2007-01-29 ]

Awdal region consists of four districts:
*Baki
*Borama
*Lughaya
*Saylac
*Dilla

References