Dolo is a town in southeastern 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...

, within 30 kilometers of the Ethiopia-Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

 border. Located in the Liben Zone

Liben Zone

Liben is one of the nine Zones of the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Liben is bordered on the south by Kenya, on the west by the Oromia Region, on the northeast by Afder, and on the southeast by Somalia. Towns in Liben include Softu and Dolo....

 of the Somali Region

Somali Region

Somali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...

, this town has a latitude and longitude of 04°10′N 42°04′E. The Mena River

Mena River

The Mena is a river of eastern Ethiopia. It is a tributary of the Ganale Dorya....

 flows to the northeast.

When a delegation from the UNDP 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 Habte Giyorgis

Habte Giyorgis

Fitawrari Habte Giorgis Dinagde was the Ethiopian Minister of War during the reigns of Menelik II, Iyasu V, Zauditu and Haile Selassie . He is from the Oromo people of Ethiopia and played a leading role in several battles...

's campaign against the Borana, when he reached as far as Dolo in 1896-1897 and founded military garrisons in the region. Dolo was one of the markets on the trade route that stretched from Bardera

Bardera

Bardera City is an important agricultural city in the Gedo region of Somalia. It is the second most populous town in the Juba Valley, with Kismayo being the largest and most densely populated city in the region, and Garbahaarreey serving as Gedo's capital...

 through Luuq

Luuq

Luuq or Lugh is a city in the southern Gedo province of Somalia. It is one of the oldest cities in the country, and is the seat of the Luuq District, one of the region's seven districts. The town is located in a bend of the Juba River, where the river flows down from north to south in a horseshoe...

 (in modern-day Somalia) to Ginir

Ginir

Ginir is a town in southeastern Ethiopia. Located in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region , this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation between 1750 and 1986 meters above sea level....

.

Marshal Rodolfo Graziani

Rodolfo Graziani

Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli , was an officer in the Italian Regio Esercito who led military expeditions in Africa before and during World War II.-Rise to prominence:...

 started his attack in the Second Italian-Abyssinian War on 4 October 1935 and soon occupied Dolo. He began his major large attack northwards on 10 January 1936. In March 1941, during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. the 1st Battalion of the Gold Coast Regiment

Ghana Regiment

The Ghana Regiment is an infantry regiment that forms the main fighting element of the Ghanaian Army.The regiment was formed in 1879 as the Gold Coast Constabulary, from personnel of the Hausa Constabulary of Southern Nigeria, to perform internal security and police duties in the British colony of...

 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

Ogaden is the name of a territory comprising the southeastern portion of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia. The inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali and Muslim. The title "Somali Galbeed", which means "Western Somalia," is often preferred by Somali irredentists.The region, which is...

 where heavy fighting between Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

 and Ethiopia occurred during the first three months of 1964. On December 1972 Tenneco Oil Co. discovered a natural gas deposit yielding 35 cubic foot (0.991089645 m³) 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

Central 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, 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 reported in this town was the Somali

Somali people

Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...

 (97.97%). It is the largest settlement in Dolo Odo

Dolo Odo

Dolo Odo is one of the 47 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Liben Zone, Dolo Odo is located in the angle formed by the confluence of the Ganale Dorya with the Dawa River, and bordered to the west by Moyale, to the northwest by Liben, on the north and east by Afder Zone, and on...

 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...

.