Jijiga is a city in eastern
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and the capital of the
Somali RegionSomali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...
(or
kilil) of that country. Located in the
Jijiga ZoneJijiga is one of nine zones of the Ethiopian Somali Region. This zone is named after its largest city, Jijiga. Other towns and cities in this zone include Qarbibayax, Dhurwaale Awbere, Derwonaji, tuli gulled and Hart Sheik...
approximately 80 km (50 mi) east of
HararHarar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...
and 60 km (37 mi) west of the border with
SomaliaSomalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, this city has a latitude and longitude of 9°21′N 42°48′E with an elevation of 1,609 meters above sea level.
The city is located on the main road between Harar and the Somali city of
HargeisaHargeisa is a city in the northwestern Woqooyi Galbeed region of Somalia. With a population of approximately 2 million residents, it is the second largest city in the country. Hargeisa is the capital of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region...
, and is known for
incenseIncense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
production. It has enjoyed postal service since 1923, and had telephone service by 1956. An asphalt and concrete road 170 kilometers in length connecting Jijiga with
DegehaburDegehabur 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, it sits at 1044 meters above sea level. The town is the administrative center of Degehabur woreda....
was completed 14 November 2008 at a cost of over 230 million Birr. Jijiga is served by
Jijiga AirportJijiga Airport is an airport in Jijiga, Ethiopia . Located at an elevation of 1644 meters above sea level, this airport has one runway.The first airfield at Jijiga was constructed in 1929. An airplane crash at Jijiga in July 1930 involved the eighth or ninth aircraft introduced to Ethiopia; it was...
.
Jijiga was a city of
HarargheHararghe was a province in the eastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital in Harar. Including Ethiopia's part of the Ogaden, Haraghe was bounded on the south by Sidamo, southwest by Arsi, west by Shewa, northwest by Wollo, northeast by French Somaliland, and on the east by Somalia.Hararghe came...
province, but with the adoption of the 1995 Ethiopian constitution, it became the capital of the Somali Region.
History
Jijiga was mentioned by W.C. Barker in 1842 as one of the
mahalla or halting-places of the caravan route between
ZeilaZeila, also known as Zaila , is a port city on the Gulf of Aden coast, situated in the northwestern Awdal region of Somalia.Located near the Djibouti border, the town sits on a sandy spit surrounded by the sea. It is known for its offshore islands, coral reef and mangroves. Landward, the terrain is...
and Harar.
A British hunter Colonel Swayne passed through Jijiga in February 1893, which he described as a stockaded fort with a garrison of 25 men next to a group of wells.
According to I. M. Lewis, Jijiga was attacked by the followers of
SayyidSayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
Mohammed Abdullah HassanSayyīd Muhammad `Abd Allāh al-Hasan was a Somali religious and patriotic leader...
in March 1900. Although the attackers suffered heavy losses which allowed the Ethiopian government to declare a victory, Siyyid Mohammed's men recovered livestock the Ethiopians had taken from the Somalis and proved that Siyyid Mohammed was a force to be reckoned with. However,
Richard PankhurstRichard Keir Pethick Pankhurst OBE is a British academic with expertise in the study of Ethiopia.-Early life and education:...
states that Jijiga was founded in 1916 by
FitawrariUntil the end of the monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia: the Mesafint or princes, hereditary nobles, formed the upper echelon of the ruling class; while the Mekwanint were the appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the nobility...
Tekle Hawariat Tekle MariyamTekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam was an Ethiopian politician and intellectual of russophile. He was the primary author of Ethiopia's July 16, 1931 constitution, which was influenced by the Japanese Meiji Constitution.- Life :Bahru Zewde includes Tekle Hawariat in the first generation of Ethiopians...
, who had the town methodically organized in a square grid of streets.
During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Jijiga served for some time as Dejazmach
Nasibu EmmanualNasibu Emmanual, also Nasibu Zamanuael, was an army commander of the Ethiopian Empire. Along with his brother Wasane, historian Bahru Zewde groups Nasibu "among the most colourful of the first-generation intellectuals" of Twentieth-century Ethiopia...
's headquarters and a supply center for the Ethiopian army. An Italian force under Colonel Navarra occupied the city on the evening of 5 May 1936. Two days later, while inspecting a ruined Ethiopian Orthodox church in the city, Marshal
Rodolfo GrazianiRodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli , was an officer in the Italian Regio Esercito who led military expeditions in Africa before and during World War II.-Rise to prominence:...
fell into a concealed hole, which he was afterwards convinced was a mantrap; Anthony Mockler suggests this mishap contributed to his murderously paranoid mindset which led to
the atrocitiesYekatit 12 is a date in the Ethiopian calendar, equivalent to 19 February in the Gregorian calendar, which is commonly used to refer to the indiscriminate massacre and imprisonment of Ethiopians by elements of the Italian occupation forces following an attempted assassination of Viceroy Rodolfo...
that followed the attempt on Graziani's life 19 February 1937.
On 17 March 1941, during the
East African CampaignThe East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....
of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Jijiga was occupied by the 23rd Nigerian Brigade of the British
1st African DivisionThe 1st Division was a British Empire colonial unit during World War II. The division was formed on 24 July 1940 in East Africa. On 24 November of that year, the division was re-designated as the British Army's 11th Division. The division were composed primarily of West African and East African...
. This was after the Italian garrison had already abandoned the city.
Once they had possession of Jijiga, however, the British were slow in returning the city to the Ethiopians. At first, it was included as part of The Reserved Area, as defined in the
Anglo-Ethiopian AgreementThe Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement was a joint effort between Ethiopia and the United Kingdom at reestablishing Ethiopian independent statehood following the ousting of Italian troops by combined British and Ethiopian forces in 1941 during World War II....
of 31 January 1942, which also included much of the
HaudHaud is a region of thorn-bush and grasslands in the Horn of Africa, which includes the northeastern part of the Ogaden territory of Ethiopia, as well the adjacent parts of Somalia. The Haud is of indeterminate extent; some authorities consider it denotes the part of Ethiopia east of the city of...
. Only after patient pressure from Emperor Haile Selassie, in 1948 the two countries began to discuss an agreement for the evacuation of the British from this territory. Although Ethiopian officers began to take over the administration from British officers in May–July, the protocol agreeing to the transfer was not signed until 24 July of that year. A brief demonstration of overt Somali nationalism occurred in Jijiga when the
Somali Youth LeagueThe Somali Youth League was the first political party in Somalia. It played a key role in the nation's road to independence during the 1950s and 1960s.-History:...
(SYL) raised their flag before their headquarters in defiance of the law and the new Ethiopian administrators. Major Demeka, the governor-designate of the Ogaden Province, requested the British military administration, which was still in charge, to remove the flag. When the leaders refused to pull down their flag, the police brought it down with a machine gun mounted on an armored car. In the disturbances that followed, one policeman was killed and another wounded while the police opened fire on the crowd and killed 25 of them. The SYL was proscribed shortly afterwards in Ethiopia.
Germame Neway, one of the leaders of the unsuccessful
1960 coupThe 1960 Ethiopian coup was the coup d'etat staged in Ethiopia on 13 December 1960 to overthrow Emperor Haile Selassie. While he was away on a state visit to Brazil, four conspirators, led by Germame Neway and his older brother Brigadier General Mengistu Neway, who was commander of the Kebur...
, served as governor over Jijiga in 1959. He had been transferred there for his civic responsibility and concern for the underprivileged while administering a district in
Sidamo ProvinceSidamo was a province in the southern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Irgalem, and after 1978 at Awasa. It was named after an ethnic group native to Ethiopia, called the Sidamo, or more particularly, Sidama, who are located in the south-central part of that country...
. The obstruction he encountered, not only in Sidamo but in Jijiga, convinced him of the need for radical measures. In the early stage of the Ethiopian Revolution individual units from the Third Division put the local governor under house arrest around 13 April 1974. During the
Ogaden WarThe Ogaden War was a conventional conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia in 1977 and 1978 over the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. In a notable illustration of the nature of Cold War alliances, the Soviet Union switched from supplying aid to Somalia to supporting Ethiopia, which had previously been...
, Jijiga was occupied by the
Western Somali Liberation FrontThe Western Somali Liberation Front was a separatist rebel group fighting in eastern Ethiopia to create an independent state. It played a major role in the Ogaden War of 1977-78 assisting the invading Somali Army...
's
Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-GhaziAhmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi "the Conqueror" was an Imam and General of Adal who invaded Ethiopia and defeated several Ethiopian emperors, wreaking much damage on that kingdom...
division led by Col. Yusuf Dheere, later with the
Somali National ArmyThe Military of Somalia was, up until 1991, made up of the army, navy, air force, and air defense command. The outbreak of the Somali Civil War during that year led to the de facto dissolution of the national armed forces. However, efforts to re-establish a regular armed force by a re-constituted...
, from September 1977 to February 1978.
The Regional government held a conference in this city to promote peace and development between 10–13 March 1996, which was attended by 535 from the local woredas, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Ethiopia,
Tamirat LayneTamirat Layne is an Ethiopian politician. During the 1980s, he was a leader of the Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement , one of the groups who fought against Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in the Ethiopian Civil War.When Mengistu was overthrown in 1991, Layne became one of the...
, the Foreign Minister,
Seyoum MesfinSeyoum Mesfin Gebredingel is an Ethiopian politician and diplomat. He was Ethiopia's Foreign Minister from 1991 until September 2010 and has subsequently served as Ethiopia's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China....
, the presidents of the
TigrayTigray Region is the northernmost of the nine ethnic regions of Ethiopia containing the homeland of the Tigray people. It was formerly known as Region 1...
and
Harari RegionHarari or officially, Harari People's National Regional State is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, covering the homeland of the Harari people...
al states and representatives from
AmharaAmhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....
and the
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's RegionSouthern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It was formed from the merger of the former Regions 7-11 following the 1994 elections...
s. On 28 May 2007, during the celebration of
Ginbot 20The Ethiopian calendar , also called the Ge'ez calendar, is the principal calendar used in Ethiopia and also serves as the liturgical calendar for Christians in Eritrea belonging to the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Church and Lutheran Evangelical Church of Eritrea...
(celebrating the downfall of the
DergThe Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
), Jijiga and Degehabur were the scenes of attacks on civilians and government officials. At least 16 people were killed and 67 injured, including 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 FrontThe Ogaden National Liberation Front , is a separatist rebel group fighting to make the region of Ogaden in eastern Ethiopia an independent state...
.
On 29 May 2008, following a heavy downpour the Jijiga River broke its banks and flooded several
kebeleA kebele is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia similar to ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people...
s in the town and the vicinity. The flooding killed 29 people and displaced 350 households. On 27 September of that year, a bomb exploded outside a hotel in Jijiga killing four and wounding 20.
Local policeLaw enforcement in Ethiopia has been since a reorganization in October 2000, the responsibility of the national police which is overseen by the Federal Police Commission. This commission reports to the Ministry of Federal Affairs, which in turn is responsible to the parliament; however, this...
apprehended a suspect whom they claimed was a member of
Al-Itihaad al-IslamiyaAl-Itihaad al-Islamiya or AIAI is a defunct Islamist militant group in Somalia that was added to the U.S. list of terrorist organizations on September 24, 2001...
. {UN Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia, field trip report: Jijiga 22–29 April 1994
Demographics
Based on figures from the
Central Statistical AgencyThe Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
in 2005, Jijiga has an estimated total population of 98,076 of whom 50,355 are men and 47,721 are women. The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 65,795 of whom 33,266 were men and 32,529 women. The four largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the
SomaliSomalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
(61.58%), the
AmharaAmhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...
(23.25%), the
OromoThe Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
(7.32%), and the Gurage (4.37%); all other ethnic groups made up 3.48% of the population. This city is the largest settlement in
JijigaJijiga is one of the 67 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Jijiga Zone, Jijiga is bordered on the south by Babille, on the southwest by Gursum, on the west by the Oromia Region, on the north by the Shinile Zone, on the northeast by Awbere and on the southeast by the Degehabur Zone...
woredaWoreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
.
Ecology
Although there is sparse vegetation in the vicinity, there is some history of animal life in the past. For example, the area was earlier a habitat for the
African Wild DogLycaon pictus is a large canid found only in Africa, especially in savannas and lightly wooded areas. It is variously called the African wild dog, African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, painted dog, painted wolf, painted hunting dog, spotted dog, or ornate wolf...
,
Lycaon pictus, although this canid is likely extirpated at present in the local area, due to
an expanding human populationOverpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
.
In his memoirs of his homeland,
Nega MezlekiaNega Mezlekia is an Ethiopian writer who writes in English. His first language is the Amharic language, but since the 1980s he has lived in Canada so speaks and writes in English....
describes Jijiga as sitting "on a vast, unmitigated plain, with no greenery in sight except for the occasional cactus bush used as shelter by the wandering
hyenaHyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
, and the inevitable sacred tree in every compound. The city is surrounded by rocky mountains on all sides save the north, which is open as far as the eye can see."
External links