Kebri Beyah (also spelled ''Kebribeyah'', ''Qebri Beyah'', ''Qabribayah'', Somali: ''Qabribayax'') is a town in southeastern
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
Somali Region
The Somali Region ( so, Deegaanka Soomaalida, am, ሱማሌ ክልል, Sumalē Kilil, ar, المنطقة الصومالية), also known as Soomaali Galbeed (''Western Somalia'') and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional state ...
, 50 kilometers south east of
Jijiga
Jijiga (, am, ጅጅጋ, ''Jijiga'') is the capital city of Somali Region, Ethiopia. It became the capital of the Somali Region in 1995 after it was moved from Gode. Located in the Fafan Zone with 70 km (37 mi) west of the bord ...
, it has a longitude and latitude of and an altitude of 1,686 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Kebri Beyah.
Overview
Kebri Beyah home to around 50.000 people, consisting of the
Jidwaaq
The Jidwaq ( so, Jidwaaq, ar, جيدواق) is a large Somali clan, part of one of the largest Somali clans families, the Absame Darod.
Overview
The Jidwaq clan primarily inhabit the Somali Region of Ethiopia, (where they live in the Jigjiga ar ...
(Abaskul) and the Aw Qudub
Sheikhash
Kebri Beyah comprises a number of smaller villages (Dhurwale, Guuyow, Dhalaandhiga, Quraan, Salbane, Qaha, Gilo, Horoqalifo, Horohawd, Campka Rayad). There are also many valleys in the surrounding area (Fadayga, Godanta, Eegato, Dulcad, Qotorooble, Goljano, Hartasheekh, Alaybaday, Durya Dibiile, Farda, Garbile, Danaba, Dubur, and Toga Jarer).
Kebri Beyah has been the site of a refugee camp since 1989. The camp originally housed about 10,000 refugees and returnees from
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, It was the only camp in the Somali Region to remain open while the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
(UNHCR) was able to close down the other camps in the region between 1997 and 2005. By 2005, the UNHCR expected to close the Kebri Beyah camp soon as well. However, the influx of more refugees from south-central Somalia led to the growth of the camp up to 16,000 or 17,000 inhabitants. In 2007, 4,000 refugees were relocated from Kebri Beyah to
Teferi Ber where a former camp was partially re-opened.
Demographics
Based on figures from the
Central Statistical Agency
The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) 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 ...
in 2005, Kebri Beyah has an estimated total population of 13,192 .
The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 8,840 of whom 4,805 were men and 4,035 women. The three largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the
Somali (99%), the, all other ethnic groups made up the remaining 1.72% of the residents.
''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Somali Region, Vol. 1''
Tables 2.4, 2.14 (accessed 10 January 2009). The results of the 1994 census in the Somali Region were not satisfactory, so the census was repeated in 1997.
Notes
{{reflist
Populated places in the Somali Region