Asosa
Encyclopedia
Asosa is a town in western Ethiopia
and the capital of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region (or kilil) of Ethiopia
. Located in the Asosa Zone
, this town has a latitude and longitude of 10°04′N 34°31′E, with an elevation of 1570 meters.
This town has an airport with a 6398 × 152 ft (1950 × 46 m) paved runway. The airport's IATA code is HASO, and its ICAO code is HASO.
10th Brigade and capturing 1,500 men.
During the Ethiopian Civil War
, with help from the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
the Oromo Liberation Front
(OLF) captured Asosa from the Derg
in early January 1990, and held the city for a brief time. During the occupation, In response the government airforce subjected Asosa to aerial attacks several times that month, killing 19 people and wounding 20. Before the OLF withdrew from Asosa, it destroyed the town's only electricity generator, stole 1.8 million Birr
from the bank, most of which were deposits from the local farmer cooperatives, and took any valuable items its troops could carry.
During the 1990s Asosa was characterized by entire government office complexes of partially completed buildings, which John Young notes was "testimony to corrupt relations between politicians and contractors." Young continues, "Indicative of the scale of the problem, during a peace and development conference held in Assosa in June 1996, the then deputy prime minister, Tamrat Layne, dismissed the entire regional government and had many of its members imprisoned for corruption."
The governor of the town of Asosa, Ahmed Khalifa, on 7 July 2007 fled to Ad-Damazin
, the capital of the Blue Nile State, in Sudan. Khalifa was accused by the Ethiopian authorities of offering concessions to Sudan on border issues. Sudan turned down a request to return Khalifa to Ethiopia, resulting in increased tensions between the two countries.
in 2005, Asosa has an estimated total population of 20,226, of whom 10,929 are men and 9,297 are women.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for Asosa of 11,749 in 2,825 households, of whom 6,324 were men and 5,425 women. The six largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Oromo
(41.19%), the Amhara
(29.93%), the Berta
(17.39%), the Tigray
(5.43%), the Sebat Bet
Gurage (1.35%), and the Silt'e
(1.29%); all other ethnic groups made up 3.42% of the population. Oromiffa
was spoken as a first language by 44.42%, 31.53% spoke Amharic
, 15.98% Berta
, and 4.43% Tigrinya
; the remaining 3.64% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 54.92% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 29.75% of the population said they were Muslim
, and 14.89% were Protestant
. It is the largest settlement in Asosa
woreda
.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and the capital of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region (or kilil) of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Located in the Asosa Zone
Asosa Zone
Asosa is one of the three Zones in Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. This Zone was named after the Asosa Sultanate, which had approximately the same boundaries. Asosa is bordered on the south by the Mao-Komo special woreda, on the west by Sudan, on the northeast by the Abay River which...
, this town has a latitude and longitude of 10°04′N 34°31′E, with an elevation of 1570 meters.
This town has an airport with a 6398 × 152 ft (1950 × 46 m) paved runway. The airport's IATA code is HASO, and its ICAO code is HASO.
History
A Belgian force from the Congo captured Asosa 11 March 1941, destroying the ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
10th Brigade and capturing 1,500 men.
During the Ethiopian Civil War
Ethiopian Civil War
The Ethiopian Civil War began on September 12, 1974 when the Marxist Derg staged a coup d'état against Emperor Haile Selassie, and lasted until the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front , a coalition of rebel groups, overthrew the government in 1991. The war overlapped other Cold War...
, with help from the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
The Tigrayan People's Liberation Front , known more commonly and sometimes pejoratively in Ethiopia as Woyane or Weyane is a political party in Ethiopia...
the Oromo Liberation Front
Oromo Liberation Front
The Oromo Liberation Front , or OLF, is an organization established in 1973 by Oromo nationalists to promote self-determination for the Oromo people against what they call "Abyssinian colonial rule". It has been outlawed and labeled as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government...
(OLF) captured Asosa from the Derg
Derg
The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
in early January 1990, and held the city for a brief time. During the occupation, In response the government airforce subjected Asosa to aerial attacks several times that month, killing 19 people and wounding 20. Before the OLF withdrew from Asosa, it destroyed the town's only electricity generator, stole 1.8 million Birr
Ethiopian birr
The birr is the unit of currency in Ethiopia. Before 1976, dollar was the official English translation of birr. Today, it is officially birr in English as well....
from the bank, most of which were deposits from the local farmer cooperatives, and took any valuable items its troops could carry.
During the 1990s Asosa was characterized by entire government office complexes of partially completed buildings, which John Young notes was "testimony to corrupt relations between politicians and contractors." Young continues, "Indicative of the scale of the problem, during a peace and development conference held in Assosa in June 1996, the then deputy prime minister, Tamrat Layne, dismissed the entire regional government and had many of its members imprisoned for corruption."
The governor of the town of Asosa, Ahmed Khalifa, on 7 July 2007 fled to Ad-Damazin
Ad-Damazin
Ad Damazin is the capital of Blue Nile State in Sudan. It is the location of the Roseires Dam and power generation plant.Ad Damazin is served by a terminal station of a branch line of the national railway network. However, the train service to Ad Damazin has been discontinued many years ago....
, the capital of the Blue Nile State, in Sudan. Khalifa was accused by the Ethiopian authorities of offering concessions to Sudan on border issues. Sudan turned down a request to return Khalifa to Ethiopia, resulting in increased tensions between the two countries.
Demographics
Based on figures from the Central Statistical AgencyCentral Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency 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, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
in 2005, Asosa has an estimated total population of 20,226, of whom 10,929 are men and 9,297 are women.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for Asosa of 11,749 in 2,825 households, of whom 6,324 were men and 5,425 women. The six largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
(41.19%), the Amhara
Amhara people
Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...
(29.93%), the Berta
Berta people
The Berta or Bertha are an ethnic group living along the border of Sudan and Ethiopia. They speak a Nilo-Saharan language that is not related to those of their Nilo-Saharan neighbors . Their total Ethiopian population is about 183,000 people....
(17.39%), the Tigray
Tigray-Tigrinya people
Tigray-Tigrinya are an ethnic group who live in the southern, central and northern parts of Eritrea and the northern highlands of Ethiopia's Tigray province. They also live in Ethiopia's former provinces of Begemder and Wollo, which are today mostly part of Amhara Region, though a few regions...
(5.43%), the Sebat Bet
Sebat Bet Gurage language
Sebat Bet is a Gurage language, spoken in several dialects found in the western Gurage Zone:*Chaha is spoken in Cheha woreda, and is the best studied of these dialects;*Ezha is spoken in Ezhana Wolene woreda,...
Gurage (1.35%), and the Silt'e
Silt'e people
The Silt'e people are an ethnic group in southern Ethiopia. They inhabit today's Silt'e Zone which is part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region. A considerable number of Silt'e live in Addis Ababa, Adama and other cities and smaller urban centres of southern Ethiopia where...
(1.29%); all other ethnic groups made up 3.42% of the population. Oromiffa
Oromo language
Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...
was spoken as a first language by 44.42%, 31.53% spoke Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
, 15.98% Berta
Berta language
Berta, Wetawit, is spoken by the Berta in Sudan and Ethiopia. It is a language isolate which has been also included as branch of the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family. It has the typical word order subject–verb–object. It is a tonal language. It has significantly influenced some of the...
, and 4.43% Tigrinya
Tigrinya language
Tigrinya , also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrnia, Tigrina, Tigriña, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is a Semitic language spoken by the Tigrinya people in central Eritrea , where it is one of the two main languages of Eritrea, and in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia , where it...
; the remaining 3.64% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 54.92% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 29.75% of the population said they were Muslim
Islam in Ethiopia
According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...
, and 14.89% were Protestant
P'ent'ay
P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...
. It is the largest settlement in Asosa
Asosa (woreda)
Asosa is one of the 21 woredas in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Asosa Zone, it is bordered by Kormuk in the north, by Menge in the northeast, by Bambasi in the southeast, and by Sudan in the west. This Woreda is named after its largest settlement, Asosa. Rivers include the...
woreda
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
.