Itang (also spelled ''Etang'';
["Census 2007"]
, first draft, p. 81 Ethiopic: ኢታንግ
[CSA 2005 National Statistics]
, Table B.4) is a town in the
Gambela Region
The Gambela Region, also spelled Gambella, and officially the Gambela Peoples' Region (), is a regional state in western Ethiopia. Previously known as Region 12, its capital and largest city is Gambela. It is bordered by the Oromia Region to t ...
in western
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
. Within Gambela, Itang belongs to
Itang woreda
Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas (; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''List of zones of Ethiopia, zones'' and the ''Regions of Ethiopia, regional states''.
These districts are f ...
which forms a special woreda. Located on the
Baro River
The Baro River () or Baro/Openo Wenz, known to the Anuak as Openo River, is a river in southwestern Ethiopia, which defines part of Ethiopian border with South Sudan. From its source in the Ethiopian Highlands it flows west for to join the Pi ...
(also known as the
Openo River or the
Upeno River).
History
The town's importance can be traced to Article IV of the treaty signed by Emperor
Menelik and the British minister, Harrington, in May 1902, which defined the boundary between Ethiopia and
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
and designated the Itang area as a British trading enclave. However, Itang was too far from the
Ethiopian Plateau, and after the Ethiopian government authorized the transfer on 8 October 1904, the concession was moved upstream to
Gambela.
In the 1980s, the
Second Sudanese Civil War
The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...
led to the influx of refugees from
Southern Sudan Southern Sudan may refer to:
* the southern regions of the present-day Republic of Sudan in North Africa
* South Sudan
South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the nor ...
, with the Itang camp becoming the largest refugee camp in the world for some time.
Itang was partially flooded by the river in mid-1998 and July–August 1999.
Demographics
Based on figures from the
Central Statistical Agency
The Central Statistical Agency, also known as the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS; Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ስታቲስቲክስ አገልግሎት), is an Ethiopian government agency designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that ...
in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 3,601 of whom 1,929 were males and 1,672 were females.
[ The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 2,106 of whom 1,176 were males and 930 were females.
According to the 1994 national census, its total population was 2,106. The ethnic breakdown was 53.7% Anuak, 28.54% Nuer, 6.79% Oromo, 6.41% Amhara, 1.57% ]Tigray
The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...
, and 3% all others.
Notable people
Commander William Nyuon Bany
William Nyuon Bany Machar (1930 – 13 January 1996) was a South Sudan, Southern Sudanese politician who was also one of the founders of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). He was appointed third in command after John Garang and Kerubino Ku ...
, a co-founder of the Sudan People's Liberation Army
The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the military force of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a key parti ...
(SPLA), lived at Itang.
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in the Gambela Region