Ogaden

Desert region in southeastern Ethiopia, between the Ethiopian Highlands and the border with Somalia. It is a desert plateau, rising to 1,000 m/3,280 ft, inhabited mainly by Somali nomads practising arid farming.

A claim to the area was made by Somalia in the 1960s, resulting in guerrilla fighting and major Somali advances during 1977. By 1980 Ethiopia, backed by the USSR and Cuba, was again in virtual control of the area, but armed clashes continued. In 1988 diplomatic relations were restored between Ethiopia and Somalia and troops were withdrawn from their shared border. Internal troubles in Somalia in 1990 created a large refugee population in eastern Ogaden.