Werder (; ) is a town in eastern

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 ...

. Located in the

Werder Zone Dollo () is one of the nine zones in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. It was previously known as Warder/Werder, so named after its largest city, Warder. Dollo is bordered on the southwest by Korahe, on the northwest by Jarar, and on the southeas ...

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 ...

, Werder has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 541 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Werder

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 ...

. The Walwal wells, site of the notorious clash between

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and

n troops which triggered the Second Italian-Abyssinian War, are located around 12 kilometers to the north-east of the town."Local History in Ethiopia"
The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 3 December 2007)

History

Huwan era

One of the Dhulbahante garesas

Mohammed Abdullah Hassan Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...

constructed in 1910 was built in the town, following the relocation of his capital to Taleex the year before, allowing him to consolidate his control over the Huwan. During 1933–34 the Italians built a road to carry motor traffic from

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

to Werder in the Ogaden by way of Geladi with the fort of Walwal becoming a crucial component for the Italians to win the war. The subjects of the Sultans Jasin and Refle were forced to accept Italian rule, otherwise, they would not be permitted to draw water at Werder.

Ethiopian consolidation

The eastern part of Ogaden was administered by Ethiopian officials for the first time on 23 September 1948 when Ethiopian administrators were sent to Kebri Dahar, Kelafo and Werder. Although Werder remained in Somali hands at the end of the

Ogaden War The Ogaden War, also known as the Ethio-Somali War (, ), was a military conflict between Somali Democratic Republic, Somalia and derg, Ethiopia fought from July 1977 to March 1978 over control of the sovereignty of the Ogaden region. Somalia ...

, Ethiopian units under Brigadier-General Demisse Bulto, commander of the First Revolutionary Army, recovered Werder as part of Operation Lash by November 1980, using the town as one of three bases to successfully clear the rest of eastern Ethiopia of foreign Somali troops by 3 December. Government security forces and members of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) clashed in Werder on 23 February 1994. More than 50 people were reported killed during the initial incident and in the three days of skirmishes that followed. The fighting forced the town's population to flee and seek shelter in the surrounding countryside. On 26 January 2008, the Ethiopian military placed staff members of the Dutch chapter of the NGO

Doctors without Borders Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

(MSF) under house arrest in Werder, accusing them of providing medical support to the ONLF. The MSF reported in September 2008 that refugees from fighting in the local conflict between Somali insurgents and the Ethiopian government had flocked to Werder in search of food and water. "An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people are currently living in squalid conditions," the MSF stated, "under makeshift shelters, with limited access to water, no sanitation, and the carcasses of dead animals around them."

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 18,357, of whom 9,737 are men and 8,620 are women. The 1997 census reported the town to have a total population of 12,309 of whom 6,433 were men and 5,876 women. The largest ethnic group reported in this town was the Somali (98.2%). This is a slightly lower share than in the woreda as a whole (99.9%), as over 88% of the non-Somali inhabitants of the woreda live in the town.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Somali Region, Vol. 1''
Tables 2.4, 2.13, 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

{{Authority control Populated places in the Somali Region