Ferfer is a town in southeastern Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. Located in the Gode Zone

Gode Zone

Gode is one of nine Zones of the Somali Region, Ogaden, of Ethiopia. This zone is named for its largest city, Gode. Gode is bordered on the south by Afder, on the west by the Oromia Region, on the north by Fiq and Degehabur, on the northeast by Korahe and Werder, and on the east by the Provisional...

 of the Somali Region

Somali Region

Somali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...

 close to the border with Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

, this town has a latitude and longitude of 05°05′N 45°05′E with an elevation of 177 meters above sea level.

During the first three months of 1964, heavy fighting took place between Ethiopia and Somalia at several border points in the Ogaden

Ogaden

Ogaden is the name of a territory comprising the southeastern portion of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia. The inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali and Muslim. The title "Somali Galbeed", which means "Western Somalia," is often preferred by Somali irredentists.The region, which is...

, one of which was Ferfer. Ferfer was among the locations within Ethiopia that were still under Somali control after Somalia's defeat in the Ogaden War

Ogaden War

The Ogaden War was a conventional conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia in 1977 and 1978 over the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. In a notable illustration of the nature of Cold War alliances, the Soviet Union switched from supplying aid to Somalia to supporting Ethiopia, which had previously been...

 of 1977/78.

The Ethiopian army maintains an important base in Ferfer. In June 2008, the border town was briefly seized by the Somali al-Shabaab.

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency

Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)

The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...

 in 2005, Ferfer has an estimated total population of 4,411 of whom 2,418 are men and 1,993 are women. The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 2,956 of whom 1,597 were men and 1,359 women. All of the inhabitants of this town belonged to the Somali people

Somali people

Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...

. It is the largest settlement in Ferfer

Ferfer (woreda)

Ferfer is one of the 47 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, named after its major town, Ferfer. Part of the Gode Zone, Ferfer is bordered on the west by Mustahil, on the northwest by the Korahe Zone, on the north by the Werder Zone, and on the east and south by the Provisional Administrative...

 woreda

Woreda

Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...

.