Shilabo (; also spelled "Scilave", "Shelabo") 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 ...

, in the Korahe Zone of the

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 ...

. It is the administrative center of Shilavo

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

During the 1963 Ogaden rebellion, Shilaabo was blockaded and shelled by the Ethiopian Imperial Army as a reprisal for local support to the insurgency. Somali military units supported the Western Somali Liberation Front's attack on an Ethiopian military unit outside Shilavo in June 1982, which led to a renewal of hostilities between the two countries."Local History in Ethiopia"
(pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 2 December 2007) The former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of neighbouring

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

, Maj. General Mohamed Siyad Barre, was born in Shilaabo, although he later claimed he was born in Garbahaarreey so he would be eligible to serve in the Italian colonial police force.Ethiopia Somalia Clashes 1982
(accessed 20 July 2009) The mayor of Shilabo, Mahdi Badal Omar was arrested in July 1995, for allegedly being a member of the Ogaden National Liberation Front.

Demographics

Based on 2005 figures from the Central Statistical Agency, Shilavo has an estimated total population of 7,239 of whom 3,877 are men and 3,362 are women.CSA 2005 National Statistics
Table B.4 The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 4,853 of whom 2,561 were men and 2,383 women. The largest ethnic group reported in this town was the Somali (98.95
''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Somali Region, Vol. 1''
Tables 2.4, 2.13 (accessed 10 January 2009). The results of the 1994 census in the

were not satisfactory, so the census was repeated in 1997.

Notes

{{reflist Populated places in the Somali Region