Werder is a town in eastern 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 Werder Zone

Werder Zone

Werder is one of nine Zones of the Somali Region in Ethiopia. This zone is named after its largest city, Werder. Werder is bordered on the south by Gode, on the west by Korahe, on the northwest by Degehabur, and on the northeast and southeast by Somalia...

 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...

, Werder has a latitude and longitude of 6°58′N 45°21′E with an elevation of 541 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Werder

Werder (woreda)

Werder is one of the 47 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, named after its administrative center, Werder. Part of the Werder Zone, its boundaries shown by official sources vary...

 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...

.

The Walwal wells, site of the notorious clash between Italian

Italy

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...

 and 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...

n troops which triggered the Second Italian-Abyssinian War, are at about 12 kilometers to the north-east of the town.

Werder is the home of late Sheikh Muhammed Takhal of Reer Sheikh Abbayonis tribe, who was a well-respected statesman among the Somali elders in the region.

History

One of the forts Mohammed Abdullah Hassan

Mohammed Abdullah Hassan

Sayyīd Muhammad `Abd Allāh al-Hasan was a Somali religious and patriotic leader...

 constructed in 1910 was built here, following the relocation of his capital to Taleex

Taleex

Taleh is an historical town in the northeastern Sool region of Somalia. It served as the headquarters of the pre-independence Dervish State.-History:...

 the year before, allowing him to consolidate his control over 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...

.

During 1933-34 the Italians built a road to carry motor traffic from Italian Somaliland

Italian Somaliland

Italian Somaliland , also known as Italian Somalia, was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy from the 1880s until 1936 in the region of modern-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th century by the Somali Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate, the territory was later acquired by Italy through various...

 to Werder in the Ogaden by way of Geladi and Marehan Farise, also the Marehan

Marehan

The Marehan are a Somali clan. They are one of the major Darod sub-clans, forming a part of the Sade confederation of clans. The majority of the Marehan live in the Jubbada Hoose, Gedo and Jubbada Dhexe regions in southwestern Somalia, as well as the Galguduud and Mudug regions in central...

 fort of Walwal was 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.

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

Kebri Dahar

Kebri Dahar is a town in the eastern part of Ethiopia known as the Ogaden. Located in the Korahe Zone of the Somali Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 493 meters above sea level...

, Kelafo

Kelafo

Kelafo is a town in eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Gode Zone of the Somali Region, this town has a longitude and latitude of and an elevation of 233 meters above sea level....

 and Werder.

Although Werder remained in Somali hands at the end of the Ogaden War

Ogaden War

The Ogaden War was a conventional conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia in 1977 and 1978 over the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. In a notable illustration of the nature of Cold War alliances, the Soviet Union switched from supplying aid to Somalia to supporting Ethiopia, which had previously been...

, Ethiopian units under Brigadier-General Demisse Bulto, commander of the First Revolutionary Army, recovered Werder as part of Operation Lash by November 1980, and used the town as one of its 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

Ogaden National Liberation Front

The Ogaden National Liberation Front , is a separatist rebel group fighting to make the region of Ogaden in eastern Ethiopia an independent state...

 (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. According to the local population, there were 94 civilian deaths, most as a result of revenge killings by Ethiopian army forces on the central square, that started after the rebels had fled.

On 26 January 2008, the Ethiopian military placed staff members of the Dutch chapter of the NGO Doctors without Borders (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

2007–2008 Ethiopian crackdown in Ogaden

The 2007–2008 Ethiopian crackdown in Ogaden was a campaign involving the Ethiopian Army on the offensive against the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front...

 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

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 18,357, of whom 9,737 are men and 8,620 are women. The 1997 census reported this town had 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

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...

(98.2%). This is a slightly lower share than in the woreda as a whole (99.9%), because over 88% of the non-Somali inhabitants of the woreda live in the town.