Aware (Somali : Awaare) is a town and the capital city of the Aware woreda, in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. It is frequently considered part of the Haud. [1]
Aware Awaare | |
|---|---|
Capital city and town | |
  Aware Location within Ethiopia | |
| Coordinates: 8°16′0″N44°9′0″E / 8.26667°N 44.15000°E | |
| Country |  Ethiopia |
| Region |  Somali |
| Zone | Jarar |
| Districts | Aware (woreda) |
| Elevation | 807 m (2,648 ft) |
| Population (2005) | |
| • Total | 132,149 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
Aware is situated near the border with Somaliland and is one of the oldest cities in the Hawd, with history spanning over centuries. Prior to the 1977 Ogaden War between Ethiopia and Somalia, the city served as the principal seat of the Jarar Zone. At the onset of the '77 war, the provincial capital of the zone was moved more inland to Degehabur, which by the early 70's surpassed Aware both in population and in economic importance. Aware was the only city in present-day Ethiopia that the British had established a colony including a sizable military presence and was the seat of the British administration in the Haud prior to Somali independence in 1960.
Aware has dry pasturage. However, the construction of private wells and birkas (underground concrete water tanks), a development which started in the 1950s and later on dramatically increased after the 1970s, offered a solution to the absence of permanent water. While this encouraged birka owners to further diversify traditional animal husbandry beyond camels and small ruminants into water-dependent cattle, this also increased livestock population in an overpopulated region, putting additional pressure on shrinking resource base; the vicinity of almost every settlement in Aware have become overgrazed by cattle belonging to the villagers, thus driving away ideal nomads raising camels and small ruminants in the eternal search for pasture and water. [2]
As part of their response to the local insurgency, the Ethiopian army enforced a trade embargo on part of the Somali Region which includes Aware. In early June 2007, a truck transporting goods (sugar, oil, and other food items) from Hargeysa was stopped by a military patrol 12 kilometers from Aware town, near the village of Dud Adaad. The patrol accused the truck's owner of delivering food to the Ogaden National Liberation Front, and confiscated his truck. In mid-September of the same year, three more commercial trucks traveling from Hargeysa to Aware were stopped and confiscated by the army at Bukudhaba village. [3]
Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 132,149, of whom 61,685 were males and 70,464 were females; 33,582 or 25.41% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 22.3%. [4] Because of its high population and the large territory encompassed, The 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA) was deemed unsatisfactory due to ongoing war between the ONLF and Ethiopian defense forces with Aware at its epicenter. The 1997 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 103,337, of whom 55,839 were men and 47,498 were women; 22,518 or 21.79% of its population were urban dwellers. The population as of today is most likely around 350,000 as a rough estimate. The largest ethnic group reported in Aware was the Somali. [5]
The town is mainly inhabited by the Isaaq clan-family, [6] specifically the Garhajis clan. [7]
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 which forms the eastern portion of Ethiopia and which borders Somalia. Before 1995 most of Ogaden was part of Ethopia's Hararghe province. The other names sometimes used for this area are Haud or Hawd.
The Garhajis historically known as the Habar Gerhajis is a major clan of the wider Isaaq clan family. They are the traditional holders of the Isaaq Sultanate and Habr Yunis Sultanate since the 18th century. As descendants of Ismail bin Sheikh Isaaq, its members form a part of the Habar Magaadle confederation, and they constitute the largest sub-clan of the Isaaq. The Garhajis are divided into two major sub-clans: the Habr Yunis and Eidagale. They are traditionally nomadic pastoralists, merchants and skilled poets.
The Haud, formerly known as the Hawd Reserve Area is a plateau situated in the Horn of Africa consisting of thorn-bush and grasslands. The region includes the southern part of Somaliland as well as the northern and eastern parts of the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Haud is a historic region as well as an important grazing area and has multiple times been referenced in countless notorious poems. The region is also notorious for its red soil, caused by the soil's iron richness. The Haud covers an estimated area of about 119,000 square km, more than nine-tenths the size of England, or roughly the size of North Korea.
Jijiga is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Jijiga Zone, Jijiga is bordered on the south by Kebri Beyah, on the southwest by Gursum, on the southeast by Ajersagora, on the northwest by the Shinile Zone, and on the north by Awbare. Towns and cities in this woreda include Jijiga.
Gerbo is a woreda in Somali Region, Ethiopia, named after its major town, Gerbo. Part of the Nogob Zone, Gerbo is bounded on the northwest by Segeg, on the north by the Degehabur Zone, on the East by the Korahe Zone, on the south by the Gode Zone, and on the West by Dihun.
Dihun is a woreda in Somali Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Nogob Zone, Dihun is bordered on the south by the Gode Zone, on the west by the Shebelle River which separates it from Salahad, on the northwest by Hamero, on the northeast by Segeg, and on the east by Gerbo. The major town in Dihun is Geresley.
Aware is one of the woredas (districts) of Ethiopia in the Somali Region. Part of the Jarar Zone, formerly Degehabur Zone, Aware is bordered on the south by Gunagadow, on the west by Degehabur, on the north by the Jijiga Zone, on the northeast by Somaliland, and on the east by Misraq Gashamo. Gunagadow, Daroor, Yoocaale, and Gashamo woredas were all separated from Aware between 1995 and 2015. The capital of the woreda is Aware.
Misraq Gaashaamo is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Jarar zone, Daror is bordered on the south by the Werder Zone, on the southwest by Gunagadow, on the west by Aware, and on the north by Somaliland; it is frequently considered part of the Haud. The biggest town and capital of this district is Gaashaamo. The district is named after the town.
Danot is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, named after its major town, Danot. Part of the Werder Zone, Danot is bordered on the south by Werder, on the west by the Korahe Zone, on the northwest by the Degehabur Zone, on the north by Somaliland, on the east by Boh, and on the southeast by Galadi.
Boh, popularly known as 'Iid, is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Werder Zone, Boh is located in the easternmost part of the country, at the point of the angle jutting into Somalia; on its other sides, this woreda is bordered on the southwest by Geladin, and on the northwest by Danot. The easternmost point of this woreda is the easternmost point of Ethiopia. Towns in Boh include Boh, [Dameco]] jiracle, Afa'ridood, Gambarey, Maaneed,Qaawane;marqaanwayne Galhamur, Toga'Erigoo, Saaxa-dheer qaawane is one of city’s of the bokh
Geladin is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Werder Zone Geladin is bordered on the south by the Korahe Zone, on the west by Werder, on the northwest by Danot, on the northeast by Boh, and on the southeast by the Provisional Administrative Line with Somalia. The major town in Geladin is Geladin.
Werder is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, named after its administrative center, Werder. Part of the Werder Zone, Werder is bordered on the southwest by the Korahe Zone, on the north by Danot, and on the east by Geladin.
Afder is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Afder Zone, Afder is bordered on the south by Dolobay, on the west by Jerti (woreda)Jarreti, on the north by Elkere, on the west by the Gode Zone, and on the southeast by Barrey. Towns in Afder include Gud'usbo and Hargele.
Degehabur is a town in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. It is located in the Jarar Zone of the Somali Region. Degahabur is occupied by the Rer Isaaq ,Ogaden. Degehabur sits at 1044 meters above sea level. The town is the administrative center of Degehabur woreda.
Hawd Region was a region in Somaliland. The Hawd Region was created by President Dahir Riyale Kahin on May 15, 2008.
The Isaaq genocide, also known as the Hargeisa holocaust, was the systematic, state-sponsored genocide of Isaaq civilians between 1987 and 1989 by the Somali Democratic Republic, under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, during the Somaliland War of Independence. The number of civilian deaths in this massacre is estimated to be between 50,000 and 100,000, according to various sources, whilst local reports estimate the total civilian deaths to be upwards of 200,000 Isaaq civilians. The genocide also included the levelling and complete destruction of the second and third largest cities in the Somali Republic, Hargeisa and Burao, respectively, and had caused up to 500,000 Somalis of the region, primarily of the Isaaq clan, to flee their land and cross the border to Hartasheikh in Ethiopia as refugees in what was described as "one of the fastest and largest forced movements of people recorded in Africa", which resulted in the creation of the world's largest refugee camp then (1988), with another 400,000 being displaced. The scale of destruction led to Hargeisa being known as the 'Dresden of Africa'. The killings happened during the Somali Civil War and have been referred to as a "forgotten genocide".
Daroor is a town in the Misraq Gashamo woreda, in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. It is frequently considered part of the Haud. It is approximately 30 km south of the border with Somaliland.
The Somaliland War of Independence was a rebellion waged by the Somali National Movement (SNM) against the ruling military junta in Somalia led by General Siad Barre lasting from its founding on 6 April 1981 and ended on 18 May 1991 when the SNM declared what was then northern Somalia independent as the Republic of Somaliland. The conflict served as the main theater of the larger Somali Rebellion that started in 1978. The conflict was in response to the harsh policies enacted by the Barre regime against the main clan family in Somaliland, the Isaaq, including a declaration of economic warfare on the clan-family. These harsh policies were put into effect shortly after the conclusion of the disastrous Ogaden War in 1978.
Somalis in Ethiopia refers to ethnic Somalis residing in Ethiopia, particularly in the Somali Region. Their language is primarily Somali and are majority Islam adhering. According to 2008 census based on Central Statistical Authority, Somali was the third largest ethnic group in Ethiopia with 4,560,000 population, accounting 6.2% after Oromo (34.4%) and Amhara (27%). The Somali population in Ethiopia makes up around 30% of the total Somali population.
For example, the Aware camp, like Hartisheik, was mostly Isaaq-settled because it was located in Isaaq area of Ethiopia
the search for refuge has led large numbers to migrate across the border to settle among the largely 'Idagale community at Aware in Ethiopia