Jijiga zone

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The Jijiga Zone is an administrative zone of the Somali region in Ethiopia . According to the 2007 census, the population was 967,652, of whom 21.04% (203,588) lived in urban areas. The capital of the zone is Jijiga (Jijiga), which is also the capital of the entire Somali region.

geography

The zone is divided into the six woredas Awbere , Babile , Gursum , Jijiga , Harshin and Kebri Beyah . Larger places in the Jijiga zone are Jijiga , Awbere (Aw Barre), Chinhahsan , Derwonaji , Hartisheik , Kebri Beyah and Lefa Eisa (Lefa Isa). Jijiga borders Somalia or the de facto independent Somaliland to the east, and the Oromia region to the west within Ethiopia . The border areas between Somali and Oromia are controversial, for example Chinhahsan is claimed by both regions. Oromia also has a Woreda Babile and a Woreda Gursum .

The area of ​​the Jijiga zone extends from highland areas in the west around Chinhahsan to part of the Haud in the east. The main rivers are the Fafen , Jerer and Dakhata , all of which do not carry water all year round.

population

In 1997, of 813,200 inhabitants, 87.51% were Somali , 7.49% Oromo , 2.13% Amharen , 0.39% Gurage and 0.13% Tigray ; 2.21% were classified as foreigners from Somalia. 90.23% spoke Somali as their mother tongue, 6.68% Oromo and 2.81% Amharic . 16.24% spoke a second language: 8.1% also spoke Oromo, 4.57% Somali and 1.85% Amharic. Of the residents over ten years old, 7.54% (61,293) could read and write.

The Somali in Jijiga belong to different clans , including Isaaq , Dir (Gadabursi and Issa ) and Darod . Mixed groups like the Jarso live in the border area to the Oromo .

refugees

When the conflict between the state army and the rebels of the SNM escalated in neighboring northern Somalia in 1988 , hundreds of thousands of Somalis, mainly from the Isaaq clan, fled across the border into Ethiopia. After the SNM came to power, more refugees came from the minority clans of Issa, Gadabursi and Darod. Several refugee camps were set up in the Jijiga zone, for example in Hartisheik - at times the largest refugee camp in the world -, Derwonaji, Kebri Beyah and Teferi Ber (other camps were opened in the Degehabur zone and one in Shinile ). Most were closed as a result of the return of many refugees. Today mainly refugees from southern Somalia are housed in Kebri Beyah, Teferi Ber / Awbere and Sheder .

history

The area of ​​the Jijiga Zone belonged to the Harerge Province until the administrative division of Ethiopia was reorganized in 1991 . From the 1960s under Haile Selassie , Amharic farmers were encouraged to settle in the relatively fertile area around Jijiga. For this purpose, grazing land was used by Somali cattle breeders.

economy

In the northwest of the zone, sedentary farmers grow sorghum, maize, wheat and barley; Right on the border to the Shinile zone, cattle breeders and agropastoralists live similarly to those in this neighboring zone . In the central part of the zone, agropastoralists combine corn and sorghum cultivation with cattle farming. In the Haud , the nomads keep camels and small livestock typical of this area.

Besides the Degehabur Zone , the Jijiga Zone has been hit hardest by deforestation for the production of charcoal. The charcoal is mainly sold to traders from Hargeysa in the neighboring Somaliland / Northern Somalia, some of whom export it to the Gulf States .

swell

  1. ↑ Central Statistical Agency : Population and Housing Census Report - Somali Region - 2007 ( Memento of the original dated November 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 7 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.csa.gov.et
  2. ↑ a b Save the Children / Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency: Jijiga Sedentary Farming Livelihood Zone ( Memento of the original dated December 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 769 kB), 2001 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dppc.gov.et
  3. ↑ CSA: 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Somali Region, Vol. 1 ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 1998 (PDF; 51.8 MB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.csa.gov.et
  4. ↑ a b Ahmed Yusuf Farah, Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia (UN-EUE) Development Program: Major Characteristics of the Ethiopian Somali Region ( Memento of the original of July 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked . Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 1995 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.africa.upenn.edu
  5. ↑ Guido Ambroso: Pastoral society and transnational refugees: population movements in Somaliland and eastern Ethiopia 1988–2000. New Issues in Refugee Research, Working Paper No. 65 , UNHCR - Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit, 2002 (PDF; 492 kB)
  6. ↑ UNHCR: UNHCR optimistic about meeting water needs of refugees in Ethiopia , April 2, 2009
  7. ↑ UNHCR: UNHCR starts moving Somali refugees to new camp in Ethiopia , February 16, 2010
  8. ^ Noel J. Cossins: Pastoralism under Pressure: A Study of the Somali Clans in the Jijiga Area of ​​Ethiopia , Addis Abeba, Livestock and Meat Board , 1971; quoted in Alex de Waal, Africa Watch: Evil Days. 30 Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia , 1991 (p. 71)
  9. ↑ CHF International: Grassroots Conflict Assessment of the Somali Region, Ethiopia, August 2006 (PDF), p. 19