Yabelo

Yabelo (also spelled Yabello, Yavello, Iavello) is a town in southern Ethiopia. An alternative name for this town is Obda, which is also the name of a nearby mountain. Located northwest of Moyale in the Borena Zone of the Oromia Region (or kilil), this town has a latitude and longitude of 4°53′N 38°5′E / 4.883°N 38.083°E / 4.883; 38.083Coordinates: 4°53′N 38°5′E / 4.883°N 38.083°E / 4.883; 38.083 and an elevation of 1857 meters above sea level. It has been the administrative center of the Borena Zone since its division from Guji Zone in September 2002, as well as Yabelo woreda.

This town is reported to have two gas stations, telephone service, a post office and a commercial bank, as well as at least one primary and one secondary school.

History

Yabelo was entered by the Italian Laghi Division on 11 July 1936, but more formally occupied on 6 August 1936 by troops under the command of Giorgio Pollera. 15 tanks from the Yabelo garrison attempted to break through the Allied defenses around Mega, but failed; Yabelo was occupied by the Allies two days after the armored assault on 22 February 1941. The hangar the Italians had built at Yabelo was dismantled in 1952, and transported to Debre Zeyit by air, where it was re-erected to house the newly acquired Fairey Firefly airplanes from Canada.

Yabelo (woreda)

Yabelo is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after its administrative center, Yabelo. Part of the Borena Zone, Yabelo is bordered on the south by Dire, on the west by Teltele, on the north by Hagere Mariam, and on the east by Arero.

Overview

The altitude of this woreda ranges from 350 to 1800 meters above sea level. There are no rivers or streams in Yabelo. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 10% is arable or cultivable (7.5% was under annual crops), 60% pasture, 10% forest (5.5% state forests), and the remaining 20% is considered swampy, degraded or otherwise unusable. A notable local landmark is the Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary. Teff, wheat, corn, haricot bean, sorghum and barley are important crops.

Industry in the woreda includes 19 grain mills and one metal works. Deposits of nickel are known to exist but have not been commercially developed. There were 15 Farmers Associations and 6 Farmers Service Cooperatives; about 70% of the farmers are pastoralists. Yabelo has 163 kilometers of dry-weather and 103 all-weather road, for an average road density of 48.2 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 41% of the rural and 58.1% of the urban population has access to drinking water.