RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS ON ETHIOPIAN CITIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M00165A000400320011-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 15, 2004
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: September 8, 1977
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2004/03/25 : CIA-RDP80M00165A000400320011-4
SECRET 0
8 September 1977
SUBJECT: Response to Questions on Ethiopian Cities
The three Ethiopian cities of Dire Dawa, Harar, and
Jijiga lie along the edge of the Rift Valley that separates
the rugged Ethiopian highlands from the coastal plain ex-
tending inward from Somalia. Their geography contributes to
their role as military strong points.
None of the three is typical of either Ethiopia or
Somalia, and none is in the area formally designated as the
Ogaden--i.e., the southeastern region administered by Ethio-
pia since World War II. Somali claims to all parts of
-Ethiopia inhabited predominantly by Somali ethnic groups,
however, take in the region surrounding?the three.cities
and, by'some accounts, extend as far as the Awash River to
the north and west.
Dire Dawa, the third largest city in Ethiopia, is of
considerable economic importance. It lies at roughly the
half-way point of the Djibouti-Addis Ababa railroad--now out
of operation--and was the major maintenance center. It also
services the still-open road between Djibouti and Addis
Ababa. An Ethiopian Air Group is stationed at Dire Dawa,
and it is the site of major military storage depots. Because
of its role as a commercial, transportation, and military
center, Dire Dawa has a mixed and fairly cosmopolitan popula-
tion.
Harar is the headquarters of the Ethiopian army's
Third Division,. charged with defense against Somali in-
vasion. The city has long been an important Muslim reli-
gious center, though located in Christian Ethiopia. Its
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population is mainly Galla, the largest-but traditionally
suppressed--ethnic group in Ethiopia. The city also claims
special status as the home area of both'former Emperor
Haile Salassie and Chairman Mengistu.
Jijiga is more exposed militarily than the other. two
cities, and is of less political and economic importance.'
It has been the scene'of a major, and apparently still in-
decisive, battle between Ethiopian and Somali forces for
the past two weeks.
SECRET
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I Lake
Rudolf
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t?' Sidamo
9
Saudi
Arabia
North
OSANA
Yemen
Indian Ocean
OGADISCIO
\\\ Approximate geographic limits of the Ogaden area.
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