Qwara (woreda)

Qwara is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Qwara is named after the former province Qwara, which was in the same area. Located at the westernmost point of the Semien Gondar Zone, Qwara is bordered on the south by the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, on the west by Sudan, on the north by Metemma, on the east by Takusa and Alefa, and on the southeast by Agew Awi Zone; part of its boundary with the Benishangul-Gumaz Region is defined by the Dinder River. The administrative center of this woreda is Gelegu; other settlements include Tewodros Ketema.

History

After the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) was defeated for control of northern Ethiopia by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in 1978, one wing of the EPRP moved to Qwara where it continued to fight against both the Derg and the TPLF.

Qwara was selected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2003 as an area for voluntary resettlement for farmers from overpopulated areas. Along with Metemma, the other woreda selected in Amhara that year, that year this woreda became the home for a total of 13,742 heads of households and 12,337 total family members. Qwara was selected again in the fourth round of this resettlement program in 2006 and, along with Lay Armachiho and Dangila in the Amhara Region, and Tsegede in the Tigray Region, became the new homes of 8,671 families. This was reportedly accompanied with almost 68 million Birr in infrastructure development.