Mieso ( om, Mi'eesso) is a town in eastern
Ethiopia. Located in the
West Hararghe Zone of the
Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1394 meters above sea level.
Overview
A road was constructed connecting the town with the railroad station at
Chiro in the 1930s. By the 1930s, Mieso was the most important
railway stations of the
Franco-Ethiopian Railway between
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
Awash.
["Local History in Ethiopia"]
(pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 11 December 2007) It is now a station stop on the new
Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway
The Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway (; , , ) is a new standard gauge international railway that serves as the backbone of the new Ethiopian National Railway Network. The railway was inaugurated by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on January ...
. Mobile telephone service was introduced to Mieso May 2009.
Based on figures from the
Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 10,328 of whom 5,342 were males and 4,986 were females. The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 5,769 of whom 2,897 were males and 2,872 were females. It is the administrative center and one of five towns in
Mieso woreda.
History
One of the earliest mentions of Mieso was in 1907, when the German delegation of
Friedrich Rosen
Friedrich Rosen or Fritz Rosen (Leipzig, August 30, 1856 – November 27, 1935, Beijing) was a German Orientalist, diplomat and politician. From May to October 1921 he was the Foreign Minister of Germany.
Background
Friedrich Rosen's gran ...
passed Mieso that year on their way to the coast.
[ Near Mieso was where Lij Iyasu and his troops, returning to Addis Ababa to deal with the coup that cost him his throne, were defeated in October 1916 by an army led by half a dozen ]Shewa
Shewa ( am, ሸዋ; , om, Shawaa), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa (''Scioà'' in Italian language, Italian), is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous monarchy, kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The ...
n notables and driven back.
During the Italian occupation, a mosque was built for the local Muslim community.[
The ''Addis Tribune'' reported 5 January 2001 that 13 people died and 19 sustained light injuries when a train heading to Addis Ababa derailed and overturned near Mieso a few days prior on New Year's Eve. The train reportedly separated into three parts. A number of persons were travelling illegally on the train's freight compartments when the accident occurred.][
Numerous conflicts between the local ]Oromos
The Oromo (pron. Oromo: ''Oromoo'') are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya, who speak the Oromo language (also called ''Afaan Oromoo'' or ''Oromiffa''), which is part of the Cushitic br ...
and Somalis in Mieso followed the October 2004 referendum to establish the disputed boundary between the Oromia and Somali Regions; 2,500 people displaced from their homes in December 2004 had sought refuge at Mieso. NGOs working in the area reported conflicts as late as 14 July 2005."Regional Overview: Oromiya Region", ''Focus on Ethiopia''
(July 2005), p. 6 (accessed 11 February 2009)
See also
* Railway stations in Ethiopia
References
{{reflist
Populated places in the Oromia Region