Irgachefe (ይርጋጨፌ ''Yïrgach’äffe'', also transliterated as Yirgachefe) is a town in central southern

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 ...

in Yirgachefe District. Located in the Gedeo Zone of the

Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (often abbreviated as SNNPR; ) was a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in southwestern Ethiopia. It was formed from the merger of five ''kililoch'', called Regions 7 to 11, following the ...

, this town has an elevation between above sea level. It is the administrative center of Yirgachefe

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 ...

(or district), an important

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

growing area. 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, Irgachefe has an estimated total population of 20,979 of whom 10,501 were men and 10,478 were women. According to the 1994 national census, this town had a total population of 11,579 of whom 5,814 were men and 5,765 were women. Irgachefe was part of the

Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II The Mediterranean and Middle East theatre was a major Theater (warfare)#Theater of operations, theatre of operations during the Second World War. The vast size of the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre saw interconnected land, naval, and air ...

. Advancing from Yabelo, the British recaptured Irgachefe on 27 April 1941. However, the road further north was so bad that it took ten days to travel , making the transport of supplies almost impossible. As a result, two battalions returned to Yabelo with the motor transport vehicles, while one battalion continued the advance northward carrying the ammunition and food supplies by foot and mule pack."Local History in Ethiopia"
(pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 20 November 2007)

Notes

Populated places in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region {{SouthernNationsET-geo-stub