Dolo is a border town in southeastern

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, within 30 kilometers of the Ethiopia-

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

border. Located in the

Liben Zone Liben () is a zone in Somali Region of Ethiopia. Liben is bordered on the south by Kenya, on the northwest by the Oromia Region, on the northeast by Afder, and on the southeast by Somalia's federal state of Jubaland. Towns in Liben zone inclu ...

of the

Somali Region The Somali Region (, , ), also known as Soomaali Galbeed () and officially the Somali Regional State, is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in eastern Ethiopia. It is the largest region of Ethiopia. The state borders the Ethiopian regions ...

, this town has a latitude and longitude of . The Mena River flows to the northeast. When a delegation from the

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

visited the town in February 1994, they reported that an elementary school was present, but not functioning because of a "lack of basic school materials and lack of budget for teachers salary".

History

One of the earliest recorded mentions of Dolo was during

Fitawrari Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( , modern transcription , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary royal nobility, formed the upper ...

Habte Giyorgis '' Fitawrari'' Habte Giyorgis Dinagde (; ; c. 1851 – 12 December 1926) also known by his horse name Abbaa Malaa was an Ethiopian military commander and government official who, among several other posts, served as President of the Council o ...

's campaign against the Borana, when he reached as far as Dolo in 1896-1897 and founded military garrisons in the region."Local History in Ethiopia"
(pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 28 November 2007) Dolo was one of the markets on the trade route that stretched from

Bardera Bardere (, , ) also known as Bardera, is a city in Jubaland State of Somalia. It is the second most populous city in Jubaland with Kismayo being the largest and most densely populated city in the region. Bardere sits on the Jubba River around 250& ...

through

Luuq Luuq (, , ) is a city in the southwestern Gedo province of Somalia. It is one of the older settlements in the area. It is the seat of the Luuq District. The town is located in a bend of the Ganana River, where the watercourse flows down from n ...

(in modern-day Somalia) to Ginir. Marshal

Rodolfo Graziani Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli ( , ; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was an Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's Royal Italian Army, Royal Army, primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and during World Wa ...

started his attack in the

Second Italian-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Italy against Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Ital ...

on 4 October 1935 and soon occupied Dolo. In December 1935, the Italians bombed a Swedish run Red Cross center in the Dolo hospital airstrike. He began his major large attack northwards on 10 January 1936. In March 1941, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the 1st Battalion of the

Gold Coast Regiment The Ghana Regiment is an infantry regiment that forms the main fighting element of the Ghanaian Army (GA). History The regiment was formed in 1879 as the Gold Coast Constabulary, from personnel of the Hausa Constabulary of Southern Nigeria, to p ...

caught the 20th Brigade of the Italian 101st Colonial Division at Dolo; its commander, staff and 3,000 men surrendered after negligible resistance. Dolo was one of several border points in the

Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; , ) is one of the historical names used for the modern Somali Region. It is also natively referred to as Soomaali Galbeed (). The region forms the eastern portion of Ethiopia and borders Somalia ...

where heavy fighting between

and Ethiopia occurred during the first three months of 1964. In December 1972 Tenneco Oil Co. discovered a natural gas deposit yielding of gas a day at Dolo. This led to the border area between Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya being considered "politically hot".

Demographics

Based on figures from the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency, also known as the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS; Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ስታቲስቲክስ አገልግሎት), is an Ethiopian government agency designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that ...

in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 30,970, of whom 16,572 are men and 14,398 are women. The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 20,762 of whom 10,948 were men and 9,814 women. The largest ethnic group dagodiya and

Karanle The Karanle (Arabic: كرنلي ,كرن, Somali: Karanle, Karan) are a Somali clan, forming one of the six branches of the larger Hawiye clan. The Karanle are geographically spread out across three countries: Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Among a ...

reported in this town was the Somali (97.97%).''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. It is the largest settlement in

Dolo Ado Dolo Addo or Dolo Ado or Dollo Ado () is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Liben Zone, Dolo Ado is located in the angle formed by the confluence of the Ganale Dorya River, Ganale Dorya with the ...

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas (; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''List of zones of Ethiopia, zones'' and the ''Regions of Ethiopia, regional states''. These districts are f ...

Transportation

There is road service to Dolo as well as air service to

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

from

Dolo Airport Dolo Airport is an airport serving Dolo, a town in southeastern Ethiopia, close to the border with Somalia. The airport was constructed between 2009 and 2012, and supports the UNHCR refugee operations in the area. The airport lies at an elevat ...

Notes

{{Authority control Populated places in the Somali Region Populated places in Liben Zone

History

Demographics

Transportation

See also

Notes