Where the hell is Jijiga? And the main issues?

Jijiga is the capital of the province Somali-Region (there are totally nine provinces in Ethiopia) in the east of Ethiopia. The Somali-Region, as the name says, is populated mainly by Somali people, but it belongs to Ethiopia. This is due to the colonial heritage, since the British were only interested in the coast line (today Somalia), the French as well (today Djibouti) and the Italians could not successfully colonise whole Ethiopia, only today Eritrea.



Map of Ethiopia with neighbours



History of the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, and Eritrea) is marked by the interest of several countries, i.e. mainly Britain, France, Egypt and Italy. This influence did not stop yet, and is complicated today by the Americans in their so-called war against terrorism, because in Somalia, the radical Islamic organisation Al-Shabab is governing the south of Somalia, including Mogadishu. The law of the sharia is governing many parts of the south in Somalia. Public executions, amputations and lapidations are daily business.

Map of the Ethiopian province Somali-Region and my places 

The Somali-Region of Ethiopia, in general semi-arid landscape with 85 % of pastoralists, is facing several severe problems of different kinds:

• The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) is fighting against the national Ethiopian army with the aim of getting independent from Ethiopia. The idea of a so-called Great Somalia is still very present in the region. Great Somalia is the unification of the Somali people (Somalia, Somali-Region in Ethiopia, Djibouti and a small northern part of Kenya). By the way, the region is supposed to have unexploited oil and gas reserves… 
• Human rights violations by the Ethiopian Army and the ONLF (rapes, torture, executions), e.g. http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/rebels-accuse-ethiopian-army-of-ethnic-cleansing/
• Tribal conflicts between different tribes and bandits
• Heavy water shortage during dry season, flood and cholera outbreaks during rainy season
• Water and land conflicts between different clans, particularly pastoralists
• Infiltration from Al-Shabab from Somalia (kidnapping for ransoms, Islamic radicalisation…)

A map which is illustrating the main problems in the Somali-Region is available here: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/RKRR-8CKLKS?OpenDocument&rc=1&cc=eth

Thus, Somali-Region is facing many challenges. But by the way, as Ethiopia is a good friend of the USA against terrorism…, there is no international attention paid to the armed conflict in Somali-Region.