Chinaksen

Chinaksan Cinaaksan (Oromo) Jinacsani (Somali)
Town
Chinaksan Location within Ethiopia Show map of Ethiopia Chinaksan Chinaksan (Africa) Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 9°30′N 42°42′E
Country	Ethiopia
Region	Oromia
Zone	East Hararghe
District	Chinaksen
Elevation	1,816 m (5,958 ft)
Population  (2007)
• Total	12,261
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)

Chinaksen (Oromo: Cinaaksan, lit.  "near the hole") (Somali: Jinacsani) is a town located in Chinaksen woreda, East Hararghe Zone of the eastern Oromia Region, Ethiopia. This city has a latitude and longitude of 9°30′N 42°42′E with an elevation of 1816 meters above sea level. Chinaksan is a historical settlement with stone walls built at the foot of an oval hill; on the hill are ruins of fortifications of Adalite origins during the Adal Sultanate period.[1][2]

The writer Nega Mezlekia, an Amhara from Jijiga who had joined the Western Somali Liberation Front, relates how he participated in an attack on a Derg military training camp in Chinaksen. No prisoners were taken in the attack; those who surrendered were shot dead.[3] Early in the Ogaden War, Chinaksen was captured by Somali units as they advanced on Dire Dawa; it was recaptured by Ethiopian units between 5 and 9 February 1978.[4]

In late January 2009, the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation completed a 27 km (17 mi) electric power line from Jijiga to Chinhahsan, while constructing six power distributors in the town. This provided 24-hour electric service to Chinhahsan for the first time.[5]

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Chinaksen had an estimated total population of 11,558 of whom 5,981 are men and 5,577 are women.[6]

The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 7,753 of whom 3,951 were men and 3,802 women. The three largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Oromo (69.59%), Somali (20%), and the Amhara (5.8%); all other ethnic groups made up the remaining 3.89% of the residents.[7]

The Jaarso clan of the Oromo represent the majority of this district at 70%, with a minority of the Geri Koombe and Samaroon of the Somali people, at 20%.

Somali and Oromo clashes

This town has often been the subject of grievances between the Oromo and Somali groups, specifically the Jaarso of the Oromo and the Geri Koombe of the Somali, who both form significant portions of the town. The Jaarso are an Oromo clan, who have recently started re-claiming their identity from 2004, with the re-drawing of district line. The Jaarso majority wanted to put the town under Oromia, while the Somali did not want to. It was paused, until it was eventually added to Oromia. However, it is still subject to heavy fighting between these clans, as well as the neighbouring Tuli Guleed in the Somali region.

References

1. Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd al-Qādir ʻArabfaqīh, Translated by Paul Stenhouse, Richard Pankhurst (2003). The conquest of Abyssinia: 16th century. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 77.
2. Northeast African Studies. Vol. 11. African Studies Center, Michigan State University. 1989. p. 115.
3. Nega, Mezlekia (2007). Coming of Age Around the World A Multicultural Anthology. New Press. p. 67. ISBN 9781595580801.
4. Gebru Tareke, "The Ethiopia-Somalia War of 1977 Revisited," International Journal of African Historical Studies, 2000 (33), p. 658
5. "Chinakson Town gets 24 hr electric power service"^[permanent dead link‍], Ethiopian News Agency, 29 January 2009 (accessed 28 May 2009)
6. CSA 2005 National Statistics Archived November 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Table B.4
7. 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Somali Region, Vol. 1 Archived November 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Tables 2.4, 2.13 (accessed 10 January 2009). The results of the 1994 census in the Somali Region were not satisfactory, so the census was repeated in 1997.