From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Negele Boran (or Neghelle) is a town in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Borena Zone of the Oromia Region on the road connecting Addis Ababa to Dolo Odo, it has a longitude and latitude of 5°19′N 39°35′E.

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Negele Boran has an estimated total population of 42,958, of whom 22,193 were males and 20,765 were females.^[1] According to the 1994 national census, this town had a population of 23,997. It is the largest settlement in Liben woreda.

The town is served by an airport (ICAO code HANG IATA EGL). Negele Military Base, an important installation for the Ethiopian Army, is located nearby.

Philip Briggs describes Negele Boran as "something of a frontier town, a cultural boiling pot that is predominantly Oromo but also has strong Somali, Borena, and Muslim influences. ... Negele's distinctive character and cultural blend are personified in one of the most lively and absorbing markets in East Africa -- especially on Sundays when the camel market is held.^[2]

The Italians under General Rodolfo Graziani captured Negele shortly after their victory at the Battle of Ganale Dorya, which further weakened the southern Ethiopian defenses.^[3] In protest over their substandard living conditions, non-commissioned officers at the base arrested their superior officers and petitioned Emperor Haile Sellasie January, 1974, an event considered by many as contributing to the fall of Imperial Ethiopia and leading to the Ethiopian Revolution.^[4]

1. ^ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.4
2. ^ Philip Briggs, Ethiopia: The Bradt Travel Guide, 3rd edition (Chalfont St Peters: Bradt, 2002), p. 421.
3. ^ Henze, Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 218.
4. ^ Bahru Zewde, A History of Modern Ethiopia (London: James Currey, 1991), p. 230.