Oromia Mieyso English (Mieso) is a town in eastern

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 ...

. Located in the West hararghe of the

oromia region Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...

, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1394 meters above sea level.

Overview

A road was constructed connecting the town with the railroad station at Chiro in the 1930s. By the 1930s, Mieso was the most important railway stations of the Franco-Ethiopian Railway between

Dire Dawa Dire Dawa (; , meaning"where the Dir (clan), Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", , Harari language, Harari: ድሬዳዋ, lit. "Plain of Medicine"; ) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Somali Region and Oromia, Oromo borde ...

and Awash."Local History in Ethiopia"
(pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 11 December 2007) It is now a station stop on the new

Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway The Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway (; , , ) is a standard gauge international railway that serves as the backbone of the new Ethiopian National Railway Network. The railway was inaugurated by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on January 1, 2 ...

. Mobile telephone service was introduced to Mieso May 2009. Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 10,328 of whom 5,342 were males and 4,986 were females. The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 5,769 of whom 2,897 were males and 2,872 were females. It is the administrative center and one of five towns in Mieso

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 ...

History

One of the earliest mentions of Mieso was in 1907, when the German delegation of Friedrich Rosen passed Mieso that year on their way to the coast. Near Mieso was where Lij Iyasu and his troops, returning to

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

to deal with the coup that cost him his throne, were defeated in October 1916 by an army led by half a dozen

Shewa Shewa (; ; Somali: Shawa; , ), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa, is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at it ...

n notables and driven back. During the Italian occupation, a mosque was built for the local Muslim community. The ''Addis Tribune'' reported 5 January 2001 that 13 people died and 19 sustained light injuries when a train heading to Addis Ababa derailed and overturned near Mieso a few days prior on New Year's Eve. The train reportedly separated into three parts. A number of persons were travelling illegally on the train's freight compartments when the accident occurred. Numerous conflicts between the local Oromos and

Somalis The Somali people (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic languages, East ...

in Mieso followed the October 2004 referendum to establish the disputed boundary between the Oromia and

Somali Region The Somali Region (, , ), also known as Soomaali Galbeed () and officially the Somali Regional State, is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in eastern Ethiopia. It is the largest region of Ethiopia. The state borders the Ethiopian regions ...

s; 2,500 people displaced from their homes in December 2004 had sought refuge at Mieso. NGOs working in the area reported conflicts as late as 14 July 2005. (July 2005), p. 6 (accessed 11 February 2009)

Demographics

This town is primarily inhabited by the Oromo people from the Ittu, Nole and Jarso clans. There are also

from mostly the

Hawiye The Hawiye (; ) are one of the principal and largest of the Somali clans, tracing their lineage back to Sheikh Ahmed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Uthman, also known as Sheikh Hawiye, the eponymous figure of the clan. They are considered the earliest do ...

clan as well as from the Issa clan present.

References

{{reflist Populated places in the Oromia

Overview

History

Demographics

See also

References