- Gambela, Ethiopia
Infobox Settlement
official_name = Gambela
native_name =
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pushpin_label_position =right
pushpin_mapsize = 300
pushpin_map_caption =Location in Ethiopia
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name =Ethiopia
subdivision_name1 =Gambela Region
subdivision_type2 = Zone
subdivision_name2 = Administrative Zone 1
established_title =
established_date =
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population_as_of= 2005
population_footnotes =
population_total = 31,282 (est)
population_urban =
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timezone = EAT
utc_offset = +3
timezone_DST =
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latd=8|latm=15|lats=|latNS=N
longd=34|longm=35|longs=|longEW=E
elevation_footnotes=
elevation_m = 526
elevation_ft =
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footnotes =Gambela is a city in
Ethiopia and the capital of theGambela Region or "kilil ". Located in Administrative Zone 1, at the confluence of theBaro River and its tributary the Jajjaba, the city has a latitude and longitude of coord|8|15|N|34|35|E and an elevation of 526 meters.Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Gambela has an estimated total population of 31,282 of whom 16,163 were males and 15,119 were females. [ [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Table B.4] According to the 1994 national census, its total population was 18,263 of whom 9852 were males and 8411 were females.
Gambela's population is mostly
Anuak andNuer people, each group having their ownmarket . The town also boasts an airport (ICAO code HAGM,IATA GMB) and is near theGambela National Park .History
Gambela was founded because of its location on the Baro, a tributary of the
Nile , which was seen by both the British and Ethiopia as an excellent highway for exportingcoffee and other goods from the fertileEthiopian Highlands toSudan andEgypt . EmperorMenelik II of Ethiopia granted Britain use of a port along the BaroMay 15 ,1902 , and in 1907 the port and a customs station were founded. A shipping service run bySudanese Railways Corporation linkedKhartoum with Gambela, a distance of 1,366 kilometers. According to Richard Pankhurst, by the mid-1930s boats sailed twice a month during therainy season , taking seven days downstream and eleven upstream. [Richard Pankhurst, "An Economic History of Ethiopia" (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie University Press, 1968), p. 304.]The Regent Ras Tafari (the later Emperor Haile Selassie), beginning on 9 July 1927, granted a number of concessions to T. Zervos and A. Danalis to construct a road 180 kilometers in length to connect Gambela with the towns of
Metu and Gore. [Pankhurst, "Economic History", pp. 290f]Gambela became part of
Italian East Africa in 1936, and the shipping service suspended when the steamer, and the British resident, left Gambela14 October 1936 . During their occupation, the Italians built a road from Gambela toNekemte between 1936 and 1940. Gambela was taken from the Italians by the 2/6King's African Rifles on3 February 1941 . [http://130.238.24.99/library/resources/dossiers/local_history_of_ethiopia/g/ORTGAM.pdf "Local History in Ethiopia"] (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 29 January 2008)]Lij Tewodros, a son of Lij Iyasu, surfaced in the Gambela area in May 1941 proclaiming himself Emperor. His insurrection was put down by Belgian Congo troops before they left the area in February 1942.
A new Anglo-Ethiopian treaty was signed on
19 December ,1944 which virtually eliminated British privileges, but the Gambela enclave continued. The Ethiopian government gradually increased its control over the enclave: outlawing theMaria Theresa Thaler as legal tender, requiring all merchants to obtain passports in person inAddis Ababa , and in 1951 informing the British resident, Captain Dribble, that he could no longer judge or imprison anyone. When he departed30 October 1954 , the end of the enclave was in sight. The enclave was still held by the Sudanese when they achieved independence, but they did not agree to hand the enclave back to Ethiopia until15 October 1956 . The port was closed during theDerg era, andas of 2005 it remains closed due to tension between theSudan People's Liberation Army and the Ethiopian government, though there are hopes to reopen the port.The
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front announced that they had gained control of Gambela by27 May 1991 .On
December 13 2003 , in an apparent reprisal for a series of ambushes of highlander civilians, 30 Ethiopian soldiers and highlander civilians launched a brutal attack on Gambela's Anuak population.Human Rights Watch has estimated that 424 people were killed. [ [http://hrw.org/reports/2005/ethiopia0305/4.htm Human Rights' Watch website] ] .Notes
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