Degehabur
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| Degehabur | |
  Degehabur
|
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Region | Somali |
| Zone | Degehabur |
| Elevation | 1,044 m (3,425 ft) |
| Population (2005) | |
| - Total | 7,239 |
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) |
Degehabur (Somali: Dhagaxbuur) is a town in the eastern part of Ethiopia known as the Ogaden. Located in the Degehabur Zone of the Somali Region on the Jerer River, this town is 1044 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Degehabur woreda.
Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Degehabur has an estimated total population of 42,815 of whom 22,670 were males and 20,145 were females.[1]
Local landmarks include the Church of St. George, and the white mosque of Degehabur, which Anthony Mockler described as "the most important in the Ogaden."[2]
[edit] History
In the 1800s, Degehabur was an important stopping point for trading caravans, but towards the end of that century the community was plundered several times and it was abandoned by its inhabitants. In the 1920s the town started to recover. It was said that there were some two hundred villages within the distance of a day's travel and that these used the market at Degehabur. By 1931 there were motorable roads in five directions out from the town. Wealthy inhabitants had started erecting two-story buildings.[3]
Due to its strategic location, Degehabur used as by Dejazmach Nasibu Emmanuel as his headquarters at the beginning of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. Despite the construction of a series of fortifications south of the town, the Italians under General Rodolfo Graziani defeated the Ethiopian defenders in the Battle of Sasabeneh, and occupied Degehabur 30 April 1936.[4] The Nigerian Brigade drove the Italians from the town in March, 1941.[5]
From 1977 through 1978, Degahabur was occupied by the Somali army as part of the Ogaden War. Haji Abdinur Sheikh Mumin, imam of the Degehabur mosque, was one of those arrested in 1994 for supporting the Ogaden National Liberation Front. Amnesty international reported in 1996 that he was still in prison waiting for court trial.[6]
On 28 May 2007, during the celebration of Ginbot 20 (celebrating the downfall of the Derg), Degehabur and Jijiga were the scenes of attacks on civilians and government officials. At least 16 people were killed and 67 injured; one of the injured was Abdulahi Hassan Mohammed, president of the Somali Region, who was speaking at the ceremony. The Ethiopian government blamed the attack on the Ogaden National Liberation Front, who afterwards denied responsibility for the attack.[7]
[edit] Notes
- ^ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.4
- ^ Anthony Mockler, Haile Selassie's War (New York: Olive Branch, 2003), p. 70
- ^ "Local History in Ethiopia" (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 20 November 2007)
- ^ Mockler, pp. 127-9
- ^ Mockler, p. 365
- ^ Cited in "Local History in Ethiopia"
- ^ Many killed in Ethiopia attacks (al Jazeera)
| Cities of Ethiopia |
|
Adama (Nazret) | Addis Ababa | Adigrat | Adwa | Ambo | Arba Minch | Asella | Awasa | Axum | Bahir Dar | Debre Berhan | Debre Marqos | Debre Tabor | Debre Zeyit | Degehabur | Dembidolo | Dessie | Dila | Dire Dawa | Gambela | Goba | Gode | Gondar | Harar | Irgalem | Jijiga | Jimma | Kebri Dahar | Kombolcha | Mek'ele | Negele Arsi | Negele Boran | Nekemte | Shashamane | Sodo | Weldiya | Wukro | Ziway |
