Degehabur (Somali: Dhagaxbuur) is a town in the region of Somali galbeed in Ethiopia. It is located in the Jarar Zone of Somali galbeed. Degehabur sits at 1044 meters above sea level. The town is the administrative center of Degehaburworeda.
Local landmarks include the white mosque of Degehabur, which Anthony Mockler described as "the most important in the Somali Region."[1] The NGODoctors without Borders operates a clinic in Degehabur.[2] The upgrade of the 165-kilometer road between Degahabur and the Regional capital, Jijiga, to an all-weather asphalt road, was announced to be almost complete on 31 October 2007, with the remaining 40 kilometers awaiting completion.[3] Construction of a 106-kilometer asphalt road between Degehabur and the town of Shekoosh was underway by March 2009. Local inhabitants constitute half of the 1,100 workers employed by the project.[4]
History
The White Mosque
During the nineteenth century, Degehabur was an important stopping point for caravans crossing the Haud for Hargeisa and Berbera in Somalia, but when Major H.G.C. Swayne travelled through the area in 1893, he found it abandoned and uses it as an example of the destruction caused by "the insecurity resulting from inter-tribal feuds." According to Swayne, at the time of his visit "there were formerly many square miles of jowdri cultivation, which has been abandoned within the last few years, and now there is only left an immense area of stubble and the ruins of the village. Dagahbur used to be a thriving settlement of one thousand five hundred inhabitants ... now not a hut is left."[5]
In the 1920s Degehabur 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.[6]
In 1927, Ethiopian soldiers attacked the British governor of Somaliland while he was in Degehabur on a hunting trip, killing eight of his bodyguards. The British Government protested but was met with little response from Ras Tafari, who claimed that he was not able to keep some of his men in order.[7]
During the 1960s, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie responded to the 1963–1965 Ogaden rebellion with brutal and repressive crackdowns against the Somalis in the Ogaden region.[10] Most infamous of these reprisals was on the town of Degehabur in what became known locally as the "Kanone Massacre". Degehabur was bombarded by artillery from nearby high ground, which was followed by a killing spree when army troops later entered the settlement.[11][12] Degahabur was defended by the 11th Brigade of the Ethiopian Army at the beginning of the Ogaden War, until the unit was ordered at the end of July 1977 to withdraw to Jijiga.[13] It was recaptured by the 69th Brigade and the Third Cuban Tank Brigade 6 March 1978.[14]
Haji Ahmed nur Sheikh Mumin, imam of the Degehabur mosque, was one of those arrested in 1994 for supporting the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). 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 ONLF, who afterward denied responsibility for the attack.[15]
Partly in response to this attack, the Ethiopian Army began confiscating commercial vehicles that moved goods into the conflict-affected zones of Somali Region. In May 2007 the last major trade convoy left Hargeysa, consisting of 18 trucks stocked with food items and clothing. This convoy stopped near Degehabur and all 18 trucks were confiscated by the army and taken to the military base in that town. At the end of September 2007, four months later, according to their owners, all 18 trucks were still impounded at the military base.[16]
Demographics
Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2007, Degehabur has an estimated total population of 150 000 of whom 85 000 are men and 65 000 are women.[17] The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 28,708 of whom 14,976 were men and 13,732 women. The largest two ethnic groups reported in this town were the Somali (98.45%), all other ethnic groups made up the remaining 1.55% of the residents.[18]
Education
Cumar Binu Khadaab
One of the first private schools in Degehabur, Jarar is Cumar Binu khadaab primary and secondary schools. It was established in the 2008-2009 academic year and was started with only four grades, grades one to four. The number of enrolled students in the second year of the school was massive and suddenly the school became popular in and around the town. The school’s population and popularity grew in such a short period of time. As for now, in 2023, the school has two primary schools, and a secondary school, and is in the process of making a university. The two classes that this school offers that are not taught in other schools are Arabic and Islamic Studies. This is because non-Muslim students attend other schools but this school is for Muslims.
The Somali Region, also known as Soomaali Galbeed and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional state in eastern Ethiopia. Its territory is the largest after Oromia Region. The regional state borders the Ethiopian regions of Afar and Oromia and the chartered city Dire Dawa to the west, as well as Djibouti to the north, Somalia to the northeast, east and south; and Kenya to the southwest.
Ogaden is one of the historical names used for the modern Somali Region. It is also natively referred to as Soomaali Galbeed. The region forms the eastern portion of Ethiopia and borders Somalia. It also includes another region to the north known as Haud.
The Western Somali Liberation Front was a Somali movement fighting in eastern Ethiopia to liberate the Somali inhabited Ogaden region from Ethiopian control. It played a major role in the Ogaden War of 1977–78, assisting the invading Somali Army.
Jijiga is the capital city of Somali Region, Ethiopia. It became the capital of the Somali Region in 1995 after it was moved from Gode. Located in the Fafan Zone with 70 km (37 mi) west of the border with Somalia, the city has an elevation of 1,634 metres above sea level. Jigjiga is traditionally the seat of the Bartire Garad Wiil-Waal of the Jidwaaq Absame. The International airport is named after him.
The Ogaden War, also known as the Ethio-Somali War, was a military conflict fought between Somalia and Ethiopia from July 1977 to March 1978 over the sovereignty of Ogaden. Somalia's invasion of the region, precursor to the wider war, met with the Soviet Union's disapproval, leading the superpower to end its support for Somalia and to fully support Ethiopia instead.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front, Abbreviated ONLF; Somali: Jabhadda Waddaniga Xoreynta Ogaadeeniya, Abbrieviated JAWXO; Arabic: الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير أوجادين, romanized: Al-Jabhat al-wataniat litahrir 'Awjadin, Abbreviated ALJAWLA, is a Somali politico-military organization which aims for the right to Self-determination of the Somali People in the Ogaden or the Somali Region under the control of Ethiopia.
The Ogaden is one of the major Somali clans in the Horn of Africa.
Aware is one of the woredas of Ethiopia in the Somali Region. Part of the Jarar Zone, formerly Degehabur Zone, Aware is bordered on the south by Gunagado, on the west by Degehabur, on the north by the Jijiga Zone, on the northeast by Somaliland, and on the east by Misraq Gashamo. Gunagado, Daroor, Yoocaale, and Gashamo woredas were all separated from Aware between 1995 and 2015. The capital of the woreda is Aware.
Kebri Dehar is a city in the eastern part of Ethiopia known as the Ogaden Region. Located in the Korahe Zone of the Ogaden Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 6°44′N44°16′E and an elevation of 1609 meters above sea level. Kebri Dehar is served by kabridahar international Airport.
The raid on Abole oil exploration facility occurred in the early morning of 24 April 2007, when insurgents of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) attacked the oil exploration facility in the town of Abole, 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Degehabur, in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. The facility was operated by Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau (ZPEB), a subsidiary of the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) which was contracted on behalf of Malaysian oil and gas multinational Petronas.
Werder is a town in eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Werder Zone of the Somali Region, Werder has a latitude and longitude of 6°58′N45°21′E with an elevation of 541 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Werder woreda.
Gode is a city in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Shabelle Zone, the city was the capital of the Somali Region until 1995 when Jijiga became the capital
Danan is a town in the eastern part of Ethiopia known as the Ogaden. Located in the Gode Zone of the Somali Region, and it is located the main road between Gode and Kebri Dahar (Qabridahare) the nearest towns with electricity. This town was settled in 1911, and took the name of the district in 1935 during Emperor Haile-silase's rule of Ethiopia. This town has a latitude and longitude of 6°30′N43°30′E.
The 2007–2008 Ethiopian crackdown in Ogaden was a military campaign by the Ethiopian Army against the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). The crackdown against the guerrillas began after they killed over 60 Ethiopian troops and several foreign workers during a raid on a Chinese-run oil exploration field in April 2007.
Fiq,, is a town in eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Erer Zone of the Somali Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 08°8′N42°18′E with an elevation of 1229 meters above sea level.
The Insurgency in Ogaden was an armed conflict that took place from 1992 to 2018. It was waged by nationalist and islamist Somali insurgent groups seeking self determination for the region, primarily the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and Al-Itihaad Al-Islamiya (AIAI). The war in the region began in 1992, when the Ethiopian government attacked AIAI in an attempt to suppress the growth of the organization. In 1994, the ONLF commenced its armed struggle and began publicly calling for an independent 'Ogadenia' state.
Chinaksen is a town located in Chinaksen woreda, East Hararghe Zone of the eastern Oromia Region, Ethiopia. This city has a latitude and longitude of 9°30′N42°42′E with an elevation of 1816 meters above sea level. Chinaksan is a historical settlement with stone walls built at the foot of an oval hill; on the hill are ruins of fortifications of Adalite origins during the Adal Sultanate period.
Admiral Mohamed Omar Osman is a Somali admiral, war hero and the incumbent chairman of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).
The Battle of Harar was a battle of the Ogaden War. The battle took place from October 1977 until January 1978, and was fought near Harar, Ethiopia. The Cuban soldiers took part supporting the Ethiopian army, during the battle they engaged the attackers in vicious fighting.
The Somali invasion of Ogaden took place in July 1977, when Somalia attacked Ethiopia in two formations. The main force had the aim of seizing Jijiga, Harar and Dire Dawa while a secondary force assaulted Dolo, Gode and Imi.
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