page_title: Awasa
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Awasa / History
caption_attribution_description: English: St. Gabriel Church in Awasa, South Ethiopia. Deutsch: Kirche St. Gabriel in Awassa, Südäthiopien.
context_page_description: Awassa is a city in Ethiopia, on the shores of Lake Awasa in the Great Rift Valley. It is located 273 km south of Addis Ababa via Bishoftu, 130 km east of Sodo, and 75 km north of Dilla. The town serves as the capital of the Sidama Region and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region. It lies on the Trans-African Highway 4 Cairo-Cape Town, and has a latitude and longitude of 7°3′N 38°28′E and an elevation of 1,708 meters above sea level. Its name comes from a Sidamic word meaning "wide body of water".
  The city is home to Hawassa University, Awasa Adventist College, and a major market. The city is served by Awasa Airport, opened in 1988. Postal service is provided by the main branch; electricity and telephone service are also available. Important local attractions include the St. Gabriel Church and the Awassa Kenema Stadium. Fishing is a major local industry.
  Awasa was capital of the former Sidamo Province from about 1978 until the province was abolished with the adoption of the 1995 Constitution. It then became the capital of the Southern Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region.
context_section_description: In September 1994 alone, 194 members of the Sidama Liberation Movement (commonly known as SLM1 to distinguish it from the pro-government SLM2) were arrested and held in Awasa prison. The chairman of SLM1, Woldeamanuel Dubale, had fled to the United Kingdom after an unsuccessful attempt in 1992 to assassinate him.
  The Addis Tribune reported 31 May 2002 that government security forces in Awasa on Friday, 24 March, killed 38 farmers who were attempting to demonstrate against the government decided to move the capital of the Sidama Zone from Awasa and make it a chartered city, similar to Dire Dawa. Three thousand demonstrators of the Sidama people, the ethnic group that so far had control of the regional capital, had taken to the streets when police declared their demonstration illegal and opened fire. The regional government recently announced their decision to move the administrative center to Aleta Wendo. Human Rights Watch had documented the deaths of 25 protesters, 12 of whom were children, and identified 26 more injured. These deaths came shortly after police shootings in Shambu, Ambo, and other towns in Oromia, resulting in five acknowledged student deaths. Rapid deployment forces of the federal and regional police also killed two at a meeting in Seraro the previous year.
caption: Church St. Gabriel
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