Humera (; ) is a town in the Kafta Humera woreda in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the

Western Zone Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

the town has an elevation of above sea level. The Tekezé river borders the town to the north. Humera is a very important regional agricultural center based on intensive agriculture. It is the last Ethiopian town south of the border with

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, and is considered to be a strategically important gateway to

History

20th century

Prior to the Ethiopian Revolution, large agricultural businesses were established to grow soybean and other crops for export. By 1971, there were 700,000 hectares being farmed. Humera is part of the Wolqayt- Tsegede area, which historically has been part of the former province of Semien also commonly known as Gondar. During the Ethiopian Civil War, Teranafit and its successor, the

Ethiopian Democratic Union The Ethiopian Democratic Union or EDU, also known as Teranafit (formerly a separate group based in Shire before it merged with the EDU), was one of the political parties that formed in opposition to the Derg regime of Ethiopia. It merged with the ...

(EDU), drew much of their support from the commercial farmers of Humera and Wolqayit, and gained control of Humera in early 1977;

Derg The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " c ...

forces with tanks and armored cars retook Humera on 10 June, and the officers of the EDU fled to Sudan. The Derg used Humera as a base for military campaigns against the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) until their Third Revolutionary Army was crushed in the Battle of Shire on 19 February 1989; this forced the government to withdraw its garrison at Humera a few days later, and by the end of the month evacuate Tigray entirely. The TPLF then took control of the area, and created a supply line out of reach of the Derg. On 26 March 1989, Humera was bombed from the air by the Ethiopian Air Force. In the first few months after the beginning of the Eritrean-Ethiopian War, most of the population fled south to the villages of Ba'eker (11,000), May Kedra (5,000), and Bereket (4,000). These refugees later returned to Humera.EUE: Tigray Evacuees, 12/98
/ref>

21st century

On 13 March 2008, a bomb exploded on a public bus in Humera, which killed eight people and wounded at least 27 more. The government arrested the alleged perpetrators, who testified in court they had acted on behalf of dissident groups supported by Eritrea. Their trial was still in process at the end of the year. In November 2020, the town was shelled during the Tigray War. The Humera massacre of ethnic Tigrayans took place. Responsibility for the massacre was attributed by refugees to Amharan militias, including Fano, and to the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF). Most inhabitants fled. Administration of the town was taken over by officials from Amhara Region. In 2021, people were found having been tortured, tied up and thrown in the Tekeze River.The Guardian, 3 August 2021
Dozens of bodies found floating in river between Ethiopia's Tigray and Sudan
/ref>

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this town has a total population of 21,653, of whom 11,395 are men and 10,258 women; this is an increase of 14,451 over the 1994 national census. With an area of 153.03 square kilometers, Humera has a population density of 141.50. A total of 49.84% households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 6,360 persons to a household, and 3.40 housing units. The majority of the inhabitants said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 93.18% reporting that as their religion, while 6.45% 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 ...

. Ethnic demographics of Kafta Humera woreda

Geography

Humera is located in northwestern Ethiopia. By road it is northwest of Addis Ababa, west of Mek'ele, and east of

Shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

. The Tekezé river runs to the west of Humera. The town is spread on the east bank of the river. Humera is located at altitude ranges from 585 m above sea level.

Climate

Humera has a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

( Köppen climate classification ''BSh''). The overall climate throughout the year is mild and dry. The annual rainfall ranges between 400 and 600 mm, with most of the rain falling in the rainy season (June up to September).

Economy

The population increases dramatically during the farming season each year, when migrant workers arrive from all over the country.

Sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

, and Arabic gum are among the most common crops.

Transport

The town is served by Humera Airport. Although it wasn't operational due to a border dispute, on 26 July 2009 after three years of construction by the Ethiopian Airports Enterprise, the airport was officially reopened. A runway three kilometers long and 45 meters wide was constructed, capable of handling present-day aircraft including Antonov 124s."Ethiopia inaugurates international airport at Humera"
, Ethiopian News Agency 26 July 2009 (retrieved 1 November 2009) The airport was opened at the cost of 182 million birr. Ethiopian Airlines serves the airport with destinations to Addis Ababa and Mek'ele. The opening of the airport was aimed at increasing the agricultural sector in the region as well as providing commercial air service in Humera.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{Cite news , last=Latif Dahir , first=Abdi , date=9 December 2020 , title=Fleeing Ethiopians Tell of Ethnic Massacres in Tigray War , work= The New York Times , url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/world/africa/ethiopia-tigray-sudan.html , url-status=live , access-date=9 December 2020 , archive-url=https://archive.today/20201209211852/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/world/africa/ethiopia-tigray-sudan.html , archive-date=9 December 2020 {{Cite news , last=Brown , first=Will , date=23 November 2020 , title=After the bombs they attacked with knives, claim Ethiopians fleeing peace prize winner's war , work=The

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

, url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/23/ethiopia-unleashes-bombing-knife-wielding-militias-civilians/ , url-status=live , access-date=24 November 2020 , archive-url=https://archive.today/20201124141619/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/23/ethiopia-unleashes-bombing-knife-wielding-militias-civilians/ , archive-date=24 November 2020 {{Cite news , last=Akinwotu , first=Emmanuel , date=2 December 2020 , title='I saw people dying on the road': Tigray's traumatised war refugees , work= The Guardian , url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/dec/02/tigray-war-refugees-ethiopia-sudan , url-status=live , access-date=2 December 2020 , archive-url=https://archive.today/20201202185821/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/dec/02/tigray-war-refugees-ethiopia-sudan , archive-date=2 December 2020 Eritrea–Ethiopia border crossings Populated places in the Tigray Region