Barouéli
Barouéli is a town and commune and seat of the Cercle of Barouéli in the Ségou Region of southern-central Mali. In 1998 the commune had a population of 32,739.
Administration
Barouéli is directly south of Ségou Cercle, and directly north of Koulikoro Cercle.The Commune of Barouéli is composed of the town of Barouéli and forty surrounding villages, with an estimated population of 47000 in 2001.
The Cercle of Barouéli contains the Communes of Barouéli, Boidié, Dougoufié, Guendo, Kalaké, Konobougou, N’Gassola, Sanando, Somo, Tamani and Tesserla.
History
Baroueli was founded as a trading center by the Marka people in the 19th century. It was the site of the largest Hausa zongo in the region, due to its location at the intersection of a riverine trade route linking Bamako and Timbuktu on one hand with the overland route from Segou to Nioro and the Senegal River valley on the other.Once located in the center of the Bambara Empire, the area's population today is overwhelmingly Bambara. The town's football club AS Bakaridjan [de Barouéli], plays in the top level Malien Premiere Division.