Afder (woreda)

Afder is one of the 47 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Afder Zone, Afder is bordered on the south by Dolobay, on the west by Cherti, on the north by Elekere, on the northwest by Mirab Imi, and on the east by Bare. Towns in Afder include Guda Asbo and Hargele.

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 81,687, of whom 34,432 were males and 47,255 were females; 9,760 or 11.95% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 8.6%. Information is not available on the area of Afder, so its density cannot be calculated. [ [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Tables B.3 and B.4. Rural population numbers are believed to be underreported for this Region.] This woreda is primarily inhabited by the Dir clans and The Darod clan of the Somali people, although the southwestern half is the homeland of the Hawiye clan.

Afder was the starting point of the Bale revolt. Gebru Tareke dates its initial act to June 1963, when Kahin Abdi, a bandit known for harboring Somali nationalist sentiments, openly defied the government by "becoming an outlaw of the Robin Hood type." In September, his armed band burned the small salt mine in the district, then two months later besieged Hargele for two days. [Gebru Tareke, "Ethiopia: Power and Protest: Peasant Revolts in the Twentieth Century" (Lawrenceville: Red Sea, 1996), p. 140.]

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