Jijiga

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Jijiga (also Jigjiga) is a city in eastern Ethiopia and the capital of the Somali Region (or kilil) of that country. Located in the Jijiga Zone approximately 80 km east of Harar and 60 km west of the border with Somaliland, this city has a latitude and longitude of [9°10′N 42°48′E].

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Jijiga has an estimated total population of 98,076 of whom 50,355 were males and 47,721 were females.[CSA 2005 National Statistics], Table B.4 According to the 1994 national census this city had a population of 56,821 people. This city is the largest settlement in Jijiga woreda.

In his memoirs of his homeland, Nega Mezlekia describes Jijiga as sitting "on a vast, unmitigated plain, with no greenery in sight except for the occasional cactus bush used as shelter by the wandering hyena, and the inevitable sacred tree in every compound. The city is surrounded by rocky mountains on all sides save the north, which is open as far as the eye can see."Notes from the Hyena's Belly: An Ethiopian Childhood (New York: Picador,2000), p. 5.

The city is located on the main road between Harar and the Somali city of Hargeysa, and is known for incense production. Jijiga isa served by an airport (ICAO code HAJJ, IATA JIJ).

Jijiga was founded by King Wiilwaal of the Jidwaq Somali clan.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

Jijiga was a city of Hararghe province, but with the adoption of the 1995 Ethiopian constitution, it became the capital of the Somali Region. During the Ogaden War, Jijiga was occupied by the Somali National Army from September 1977 to February 1978.

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