Afder (woreda)

Afder (Somali: Afdheer) is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Afder Zone, Afder is bordered on the south by Dolobay, on the west by Cherti, on the north by Elekere, on the west by the Gode Zone, and on the southeast by Bare. Towns in Afder include Guda Asbo and Hargele.

History

Afder was the starting point of the Bale revolt. Gebru Tareke dates its initial act to June 1963, when Kahin Abdi, a bandit known for harboring Somali nationalist sentiments, openly defied the government by "becoming an outlaw of the Robin Hood type." In September, his armed band burned the small salt mine in the district, then two months later besieged Hargele for two days.^[1]

It was reported in 1994 that salt extraction would provide a revenue source for Afder; the woreda administration was charging 200 Birr on each truck leaving with salt for Negele Boran and Gode.^[2]

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 79,135, of whom 45,227 are men and 33,908 women. While 6,941 or 8.77% are urban inhabitants, a further 56,827 or 71.81% are pastoralists. 99.48% of the population said they were Muslim.^[3] This woreda is inhabited by Dir and Darod clans of the Somali people, although the southwestern half is the homeland of the Hawiye clan.

The 1997 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 65,609, of whom 38,499 were men and 27,110 were women; 6,527 or 9.95% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Afder was the Somali people (99.89%).^[4]

Notes

1. Gebru Tareke, Ethiopia: Power and Protest: Peasant Revolts in the Twentieth Century (Lawrenceville: Red Sea, 1996), p. 140.
2. South West Ogaden Situation Report, February 1994 (accessed 24 December 2008)
3. Census 2007 Tables: Somali Region, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 3.1 and 3.4.
4. 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Somali Region, Vol. 1 Tables 2.1, 2.12 (accessed 10 January 2009). The results of the 1994 census in the Somali Region were not satisfactory, so the census was repeated in 1997.

Coordinates: 5°15′N 42°30′E / 5.250°N 42.500°E