Asella ( om, Asallaa, ʾÄsäla, am, አሰላ) is a town in central

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. Located in the

Arsi Zone Arsi ( om, Godina Arsii) is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after a clan of the Oromo, who inhabit in the area. Arsi is bordered on the south by Bale Zone, on the southwest by the West Arsi Zone, on the northwest by East Shewa Zone, ...

of the

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...

south from

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

, this town has a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation of 2,430 meters. Asella hosts an Asella Airport (

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

code ALK). Asalla was the capital of

Arsi Province Arsi Province (Amharic: አርሲ) was a Provinces of Ethiopia, province of Ethiopian Empire with its capital at Asella. Historically a part of the Emirate of Harar until its invasion by Menelik and subsequent incorporation into modern Ethiopia. ...

until that province was demoted to a Zone of Oromia with the adoption of the 1995 Constitution. It retains some administrative functions as the seat of the present Arsi Zone.

History

Asalla town got its start before the

Second Italian-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

. The Italian occupiers wanted to make Asela into a provincial capital, but they were unable to build more than one two-story building and some warehouses of masonry. The 6th brigade and two companies of the 5th brigade of the

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions withi ...

captured Asella on 10 April 1941, after pursuing General De Simone south from

Dire Dawa Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Re ...

and forcing their way past the

Awash River The Awash (sometimes spelled Awaash; Oromo: ''Awaash'', Amharic: አዋሽ, Afar: ''We'ayot'', Somali: ''Webiga Dir'') is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia and empties into a chain of ...

and a dug-in Italian position. Brigade headquarters were afterwards set up in the town."Local History in Ethiopia"
(pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 7 December 2007) In 1946 a Swedish Mission laid the foundations for a hospital and a school in Asella, which was ordered closed in 1966 when a government hospital was built. The town was subjected to a serious epidemic of dysentery during 1953, and a

locust Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstanc ...

invasion in April 1961. In 1957 Asella was the southern end of the national telephone network, and by 1960 Asella had one of the ten municipal slaughter houses in Ethiopia; further, that year a branch of the

Ethiopian Electric Light and Power Authority Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts o ...

had begun operation in the town. Asella has been the home of many long-distance runners, including

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champions ...

Kenenisa Bekele Kenenisa Bekele ( om, Qananiisaa baqqalaa; am, ቀነኒሳ በቀለ; born 13 June 1982) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5000-metre and 10000-metre from 2004 (5,000m) and 2005 (10,000m) unti ...

Tirunesh Dibaba Tirunesh Dibaba ( om, Xirunesh Dibaabaa, Amharic: ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 1 June 1985) is an Ethiopian athlete who competed in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold medals, ...

, and

Derartu Tulu Derartu Tulu NL COL ( om, Daraartuu Tulluu, Amharic: ደራርቱ ቱሉ; born 21 March 1972) is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner, who competed in track, cross country running, and road running up to the marathon distance. She won 10,0 ...

. The

Arsi University Arsi University was established on 15 October 2014, in Asella city, Oromia, Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, ...

was established in Asella in 2015.

Demographics

The 2007 national census reported a total population for Asella of 67,269, of whom 33,826 were male and 33,443 were female. The majority of the inhabitants said they practiced

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

, with 67.42% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 22.59% of the population were

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, and 8.75%% of the population were

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. The official estimate of population for mid 2022 produced a total of 139,537 inhabitants, of whom 69,459 were male and 70,078 were female. The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 47,391 of whom 21,993 were males and 25,398 were females.

Climate

In the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, Asella is categorised as having a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(Cwb). Monthly temperature variation is low, due to its elevation and closeness to the

equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...

. The seasons are only distinguished by the intensity of

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

, which is highest in August and lowest in December.

Notable people

* Zemzem Ahmed (Runner) *

Mohammed Aman Mohammed Aman Geleto (Amharic: መሀመድ አማን; born 10 January 1994) is an Ethiopian Middle distance running, middle-distance runner. Born in Asella, he is the winner of the 800-meter final at the 2013 World Athletics Championships in th ...

(Runner) *

Sisay Bezabeh Sisay Bezabeh (born 9 September 1977 in Asella, Oromia Region, Ethiopia) is an Australian athlete of Ethiopian descent who specialized in the 10,000 metres and the marathon. He participated in the Olympic Games twice but did not place. Biogra ...

(Runner) *

Abreham Cherkos Abreham Cherkos Feleke ( Amharic: አብረሃም ቸርቆስ ፈለቀ; born 23 September 1989) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. A former track specialist, he now competes in road running events including the marathon. He ...

(Runner) *

(Runner) * Andualem Negusse (Footballer)

Media organizations

* FBC, Fana Broadcasting Corporation S.C., Radio Station at Asella Fana FM 90.0

Notes

{{Authority control Populated places in the Oromia Region