Elidar (woreda)

Elidar (also spelled Eli Da'ar) is one of the woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Administrative Zone 1, Elidar is bordered on the south by the Awash River which separates it from Asayita, on the west by Dubti, on the northwest by Kori, on the north by the Administrative Zone 2, on the northeast by Eritrea, and on the east by Djibouti. Towns in Elidar include Bure, Diche Oto, Elidar and Manda.

Overview

The highest points in Elidar include Mount Alayta (1501 meters) and Manda-Inakir (over 600 meters).

In early 1976, Derg soldiers led by Habib Mohamed Yayyo clashed with Afar fighters at Do'oroita near Elidar, with casualties on both sides. From documents captured by the soldiers, they learned that this group, who shortly afterwards organized themselves as the Afar National Liberation Movement, was leftist in political orientation and unaffiliated with the Afar Liberation Front of Sultan Alimirah Hanfadhe, and subsequently brokered a peace treaty with them which led the Derg to include a clause in their Program for the National Democratic Revolution which recognized the rights of the nationalities of Ethiopia.[1]

On 4 February 2007, the Afar Regional Cabinet approved the division of this woreda, creating a new woreda out of the northwestern part next to Administrative Zone 2 to the border with Eritrea, centered on Biru.[2]

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 58,087,[3] of whom 31,780 are men and 26,307 women; with an area of 11,636.48 square kilometers, Elidar has a population density of 4.99. This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of 8 rural kebeles, which were not counted; they were estimated to have 21,410 inhabitants. While 9,732 or 16.75% are urban inhabitants, a further 23,940 or 41.21% were pastoralists. A total of 10,479 households were counted in this woreda, which results in an average of 5.5 persons to a household, and 10,589 housing units. 97.24% of the population said they were Muslim, and 2.63% were Orthodox Christians.[4]

Notes
  1. Yasin Mohammed Yasin, "Political history of the Afar in Ethiopia and Eritrea" Afrika Spectrum Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine 42 (2008), p. 48
  2. "Three new woredas decided in Afar Region" Archived 2008-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
  3. In Afar Region eight rural kebeles in Elidar Wereda, bordering Eritrea were not covered by census. To get the total population size of Elidar, you should add the estimated population size (21,410) of eight rural kebeles of Elidar wereda.
  4. Census 2007 Tables: Afar Region Archived November 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.4.

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