Somali Region

The Somali Region (, , ), also known as Soomaali Galbeed () and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional state in eastern Ethiopia. It is the largest region of Ethiopia. The state borders the Ethiopian regions of Afar and Oromia to the west, as well as Djibouti to the north, Somaliland to the northeast, Somalia to the east and south; and Kenya to the southwest. Jijiga is the capital of the state.

The Somali regional government is composed of the executive branch, led by the President; the legislative branch, which comprises the State Council; and the judicial branch, which is led by the State Supreme Court.

History

What is now the Somali Region was part of the conquests of Menelik II in the late 19th century.

The Somali Region formed a large part of the pre-1995 provinces of Hararghe, Bale and Sidamo. The population is predominantly Somali, and there have been attempts to incorporate the area into a Greater Somalia. In the 1977, Somalia invaded Ethiopia, igniting the Ogaden War, which Somalia lost due to timely military intervention from the Soviet Union and its ally Cuba. Despite this defeat, local groups still tried either to become part of Somalia or independent.

The 2007 Abole oil field raid, in which 72 Chinese and Ethiopian oilfield workers were killed, has led to a series of military reprisals against the rebel group ONLF Ogaden National Liberation Front.

Until its first-ever district elections in February 2004, Zonal and woreda administrators and village chairmen were appointed by the Regional government. Senior politicians at the Regional level nominated their clients to the local government positions. In the 2004 local elections, each woreda elected a council including a spokesman, vice-spokesman, administrator, and vice-administrator. These councils have the responsibility of managing budgets and development activities within their respective districts.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), the Somali Region has a total population of 4,439,147, consisting of 2,468,784 men and 1,970,363 women; urban residents numbered 621,210 or 14% of the population, while rural residents numbered 3,817,937. With an estimated area of 327,068 square kilometers, this region has an estimated density of 20.9 people per square kilometer. For the entire region 1, 685,986 households were counted, which results in an average for the Region of 6.8 persons to a household, with urban households having on average 6 and rural households 6.5 people.

There are 8 refugee camps and 1 transit center, housing 212,967 refugees from Somalia, located in Somali Region.

In the previous census, conducted in 1994, the region's population was reported to be 3,383,165, of which Somalis made up 3,236,667. There were 1,846,417 were males and 1,537,748 were females. The urban residents of the Somali Region numbered 492,710 households, with an average of 6.6 persons per household; a high sex ratio of 120 males to 100 females was reported. As of 1997, the ethnic composition of the Region was 99.01% Somali, 0.30% Amhara, 0.5% Oromo; all other ethnic groups made up 0.2% of the population.

According to the CSA, , 38.98% of the total population had access to safe drinking water, of whom 21.32% were rural inhabitants and 77.21% were urban. Values for other reported common indicators of the standard of living for Somali include the following: 71.8% of the inhabitants fall into the lowest wealth quintile; adult literacy for men is 22% and for women 9.8%; and the Regional infant mortality rate is 57 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which is less than the nationwide average of 77; at least half of these deaths occurred in the infants’ first month of life.

The region is home to almost all major Somali clan families with the majority being from the Ogaden tribe of Darod comprising a whooping 65% of the total population. Except for Liben and Sitti, the Ogaden clan have a majority presence in all other nine zones. Various subclans of the Darod clan family primarily inhabit the central and eastern parts of the region, with the Ogaden and Jidwaq inhabiting the interior as well as the major towns of Jijiga, Gode, Kebridehar. The Harti clans and Leelkase inhabit the Dollo zone where they are a majority while the Marehan clan inhabit the Shilavo woreda and the Liben zone.

The Akisho clan, Issa, Gadabuursi and Jaarso subclans of the Dir primarily inhabit the northern Sitti zone, Awbare and Gursum woreda in Fafan zone.

The Habr Awal, Garhajis, Arap and Habr Je'lo clans of the Isaaq clan family inhabit the northern part of the region bordering Somaliland. The Sacad Muse subclan of the Habr Awal have large settlements in the Fafan Zone where they respectively make up in Harshin, Hart Sheik, and Wajaale (Ethiopian Side) towns. The Arap inhabit Fafan and also settle and border Kebri Beyah. The Garhajis and Habr Je'lo make up the majority in the Awaare and Misrak Gashamo woredas in Jarar Zone.

Degodia are the majority in Liben Zone and also have a significant presence in neighbouring regions. The Karanle and Sheekhaal clans are present in the western areas bordering the Oromia region and the Hawadle and Habar Gidir subclans are present in the Shabelle zone. The closely related Samaale subclan of Garre are also present in the Liben zone and Dawa zone where they make up the majority.

Languages

Somali as a primary language is spoken by 95.89% of the inhabitants. All other languages spoken together make up 4.11%.

Religion

99.74% of the population are Muslim, All other religions together made up 0.26%.

Agriculture

The CSA of Ethiopia estimated in 2005 that farmers in the Somali Region had a total of 2,459,720 cattle (representing 15.19%% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 2,463,000 sheep (27.66%), 3,650,970 goats (60.02%), 1,991,550 donkeys (42.66%), 5,3165,260 camels (96.2%), 154,670 poultry of all species (0.5%), and 5,330 beehives (0.12%). For nomadic inhabitants, the CSA provided two sets of estimates, one based on aerial surveys and the other on more conventional methodology:

Transportation

Ground travel

West from Addis Ababa, Awash 572 km via Harar and Jijiga to Degehabur

Air travel

Somali Regional State has 3 international airport and 2 commercial airports. The international airports are Jijiga Airport, Gode Airport, and Kabri Dar Airport, The 2 commercial airports are Dolo Airport, and Shilavo Airport.

Government

Executive branch

The executive branch is headed by the Chief Administrator of Somali Regional State. The current Chief Administrator is Mustafa Muhummed Omer (Cagjar), elected on 22 August 2018. A Vice President of Somali Region succeeds the president in the event of any removal from office, and performs any duties assigned by the president. The current vice president is Adam Farah Ibrahim. The other offices in the executive branch cabinet are the Regional Health Bureau, Educational Bureau, and 18 other officials.

List of Chief Administrators of Somali Region

Judicial branch

There are three levels of the Somali region judiciary. The lowest level is the court of common pleas: each woreda maintains its own constitutionally mandated court of common pleas, which maintain jurisdiction over all justiciable matters. The intermediate-level court system is the district court system. Four courts of appeals exist, each retaining jurisdiction over appeals from common pleas, municipal, and county courts in an administrative zone. A case heard in this system is decided by a three-judge panel, and each judge is elected.

The highest-ranking court, the Somali Supreme Court, is Somali's "court of last resort". A Seven-justice panel composes the court, which, by its own discretion, hears appeals from the courts of appeals, and retains original jurisdiction over limited matters. The chief judge is called the Chief of Somali Supreme Court Abdullahi Saed Omar.

Legislative branch

The State Council, which is the highest administrative body of the state, is made up of 269 members.

National politics

Somali is represented by
* 6 representatives in The House of Federation (upper chamber) and
* 24 representatives in The House of Peoples' Representatives (lower chamber)

Administrative zones

Like other Regions in Ethiopia, Somali Region is subdivided into eleven administrative zones and Six Special administrative zones:

* Afder Zone
* Dollo Zone (formerly Warder)
* Erer Zone
* Fafan Zone (formerly Jigjiga)
* Jarar Zone (formerly Degehabur)
* Korahe Zone
* Liben Zone
* Dhawa Zone
* Nogob Zone (formerly Fiq)
* Shabelle Zone (formerly Godey)
* Sitti Zone (formerly Shinile)
* Degehabur Special Zone (special zone)
* Gode Special Zone (special zone)
* Harawo Special Zone (special zone)
* Kebri Beyah Special Zone (special zone)
* Tog Wajale Special Zone (special zone)

The zones are themselves subdivided into districts.

See also

* Ogaden (clan)
* Jidwaq (clan)
* Afar–Somali clashes
* List of airports in Ethiopia
* somali

References

Further reading

* Tobias Hagmann, "Beyond clannishness and colonialism: understanding political disorder in Ethiopia's Somali Region, 1991–2004", ''Journal of Modern African Studies'', 43 (2005), 509–536.
* Abdi Ismail Samatar (2004): "Ethiopian Federalism: Autonomy versus Control in the Somali Region". ''Third World Quarterly'', Vol. 25/6
* John Markakis (1996): "The Somali in Ethiopia". ''Review of African Political Economy'', Vol. 23, No. 70, pp. 567–570
* John Markakis (1994): "Briefing: Somalia in the New Political Order of Ethiopia". ''Review of African Political Economy'', Vol. 21, No. 59 pp. 71–79

External links

Map of Somali Region at UN-OCHA

Map of Somali Region at DPPA of Ethiopia
(PDF file)



Official Website of Ogaden-Somali region of Ethiopia

"Ethiopia: Rains pound Somali region as death toll rises" – UN IRIN

"Floods plague Horn of Africa, wash away refugee shelters" – UN News

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1994 establishments in Ethiopia
Regions of Ethiopia
Countries and territories where Somali is an official language
States and territories established in 1992