Ferfer Explained

Official Name:Ferfer
Native Name:Feer-feer
Pushpin Map:Ethiopia#Horn of Africa#Africa
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Ethiopia##Location within the Horn of Africa##Location within Africa
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name:Ethiopia
Subdivision Name1:Somali Region
Subdivision Type2:District (woreda)
Subdivision Name2:Ferfer
Population As Of:2005
Population Total:133,521 (est)
Timezone:EAT
Utc Offset:+3
Coordinates:5.0833°N 50°W
Elevation M:177

Ferfer is a town in the Ethiopian Somali Regional State, on the border with the Somali Hiran region (Beledweyne District).[1] The town straddles the disputed 1950s-era Provisional Administrative Line (as depicted on virtually all worldwide maps, atlases, and geographic websites) that separates the Ogaden region of Ethiopia from Somalia, and has a latitude and longitude of 5.0833°N 53°W with an elevation of 230 meters above sea level.

During the first three months of 1964, heavy fighting took place between Ethiopia and Somalia at several border points in the Ogaden, one of which was Ferfer.[2] Ferfer was among the locations within Ethiopia that were still under Somali control after Somalia's defeat in the Ogaden War of 1977/78.[3]

The Ethiopian army maintains an important base in Ferfer.[4] In June 2008, the border town was briefly seized by the Somali al-Shabaab.[5]

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Ferfer has an estimated total population of 4,411 of whom 2,418 are men and 1,993 are women.[6] The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 2,956, 1,597 being men and 1,359 women. All of the inhabitants of this town were Somalis.[7] It is the largest settlement in the Ferfer woreda.

Notes and References

  1. http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/120222_OCHASom_Administrative_Map_Hiraan_BeletWeyne_A3.pdf
  2. http://130.238.24.99/library/resources/dossiers/local_history_of_ethiopia/f/ORTFA.pdf "Local History in Ethiopia"
  3. Gebru Tareke, "The Ethiopia-Somalia War of 1977 Revisited," International Journal of African Historical Studies' Hawadle clan is a Majority clan in Both sides Somalia and Ethiopia ', 2000 (33), p. 660
  4. http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Ethiopia_troops_occupy_strategic_crossroad_in_central_Somalia.shtml Ethiopian troops occupy strategic crossroad in central Somalia
  5. Alisha Ryu: Peace Accord Brings More Violence to Somalia. VOA News, June 13, 2008 (accessed November 20, 2008)
  6. http://www.csa.gov.et/surveys/National%20statistics/national%20statistics%202005/Population.pdf CSA 2005 National Statistics
  7. http://www.csa.gov.et/surveys/Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%201994/survey0/data/docs%5Creport%5CStatistical_Report%5Ck05%5Ck05.pdf 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Somali Region, Vol. 1