Kebri Beyah

(Qabri Bayax) )(also spelled Kebribeyah, Qebri Beyah, ,^[1] Qabribayah, Somali: Qabribayax^{[citation needed]}) is a town in southeastern Ethiopia. Located in the Somali Region, 50 kilometers south east of Jijiga, it has a longitude and latitude of

9°6′N 43°10′E / 9.100°N 43.167°E / 9.100; 43.167 and an altitude of 1996 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Kebri Beyah.

Kebri Beyah city comprises nine kebeles surrounded by a number of smaller villages (Dhurwale, Guuyow, Dhalaandhiga, quraan, salbane, Qaha, Gilo, Horoqalifo, Horohawd, Campka Rayad) and there are many valleys in the surrounding area (Farda, Garbile, Danaba, Dubur, and Toga Jarer).^{[citation needed]}

Kebri Beyah has been the site of a refugee camp since 1989.^[2] The camp originally housed about 10,000 refugees and returnees from Somalia, most of whom belonged to Jidwaq clans.^[3] It was the only camp in the Somali Region to remain open while the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was able to close down the other camps in the region between 1997 and 2005. By 2005, the UNHCR expected to close the Kebri Beyah camp soon as well.^[4] However, the influx of more refugees from south-central Somalia led to the growth of the camp up to 16,000 or 17,000 inhabitants. In 2007, 4,000 refugees were relocated from Kebri Beyah to where a former camp was partially re-opened.^[5][6]

Demographics[]

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Kebri Beyah City has an estimated total population of 24,491.^[7]

The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 24,491 of whom 14,020 were men and 11,470 women. The three largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Somali (99%), the, all other ethnic groups made up the remaining 1.72% of the residents.^[8]

Notes[]