Loyada
Loyada
Lowyacadde لويعدا | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 View of the border crossing in 1982 | |
  Loyada Location in Djibouti | |
| Coordinates:11°28′00″N43°14′45″E/ 11.46667°N 43.24583°E | |
| Country |  Djibouti |
| Region | Arta |
| Elevation | 10 m (30 ft) |
| Population (2019) | |
| • Total | 1,367 |
Loyada(Arabic:لويعدا,Somali:Lowyacadde) is a small town inDjibouti.Located in theArta Region,it is the only official border crossing from Djibouti intoSomaliland.It is situated on the west coast ofGulf of Aden,25 kilometres (16 mi) from the capital,Djibouti.
Etymology
[edit]The name of the town derives fromAfarLē-ʿáduorLē-ʿadó,which means "white watering-place" and inSomalibecameLoowyaʿádde,"with white calves", bycacography.The French colonial authorities wrote it "Loyada"; the standard Somali spelling is "Lawya caddo".[1]
History and politics
[edit]| Historical affiliations |
|---|
| Kingdom of AdalLate 9th c. – 13th c. |
| Ifat Sultanate1285–1415 |
| Adal Sultanate1415–1577 |
| Egypt Eyalet1554–1882 |
 French Somaliland1883–1967
|
| French Territory of the Afars and the Issas1967–1977
|
 Djibouti1977–present
|
The village stood on a low hill overlooking theshoreline.The water was supplied from awellin the western part of the village. During antiquity Loyada was part of the city-states that in engaged in a lucrative trade network connecting the merchants withPhoenicia,Ptolemaic Egypt,Greece,Parthian Persia,Saba,Nabataea,and theRoman Empire.
BetweenDjibouti Cityand Loyada are a number of anthropomorphic and phallic stelae. The structures are associated with graves of rectangular shape flanked by vertical slabs. The Djibouti-Loyada stelae are of uncertain age, and some of them are adorned with a T-shaped symbol. During the Middle Ages, the Djibouti area including Loyada was part of theAdalandIfat Sultanates.
In 1888, the colonial powers drew the border betweenBritish Somalilandand French Djibouti from Loyada south toJaldessa.[1]
In August 1940 Loyada was occupied by theItalians,who remained in its fort for some months.
On 3 February 1976, insurgents of the Somali-backedFLCSarmed withStG-44sand aMG42hijacked a bus carrying 31 French children in Djibouti City and drove it to Loyada. France sentlegionnairesandgendarmesfrom theGIGNand the hostages were rescued the following day under covering fire from Somali border troops, but two children were killed and five wounded.[2][3][4]
In the early 1990s, like much of Djibouti, the area was subject to conflict. Rebels took the town and were driven out by government forces, but on 5 May 1990 theSomali National Movement(SNM) attacked Loyada and killed a number ofSomali National Army(SNA) people. The event, took place while negotiations between the Djibouti and Somali governments was taking place, and the Somali government protested to the Djibouti Ministry of Foreign Affairs, blaming the Djibouti government for the incident.[5]
The town is currently the only official border crossing between Djibouti andSomaliland.Beginning late in 1999, Djibouti and Somaliland closed the border crossing several times for political reasons. In 2002, afterDahir Riyale Kahinbecame president of Somaliland, they agreed to reopen it.[6]TheUNHCRhas established a centre for the assistance of Somali refugees at Loyada.[7]
Climate
[edit]The average annual temperature in Loyada is 30 °C. About 163 mm of precipitation falls annually. The warmest month of the year is July with an average temperature of 36 °C. In January, the average temperature is 25.5 °C. It is the lowest average temperature of the whole year.[8]The largest cities most proximate to Loyada areDjibouti City(25 km),Zeila(36 km) andBerbera(289 km).
| Climate data for Loyada | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28.8 (83.8) |
28.8 (83.8) |
30.5 (86.9) |
32.3 (90.1) |
34.3 (93.7) |
37.9 (100.2) |
40.5 (104.9) |
39.9 (103.8) |
36.3 (97.3) |
33.3 (91.9) |
31.0 (87.8) |
29.4 (84.9) |
33.6 (92.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 20.5 (68.9) |
23.3 (73.9) |
24.5 (76.1) |
25.9 (78.6) |
27.6 (81.7) |
30.1 (86.2) |
30.7 (87.3) |
29.7 (85.5) |
29.7 (85.5) |
26.3 (79.3) |
24.3 (75.7) |
21.0 (69.8) |
26.1 (79.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 9 (0.4) |
16 (0.6) |
19 (0.7) |
20 (0.8) |
17 (0.7) |
0 (0) |
8 (0.3) |
4 (0.2) |
4 (0.2) |
22 (0.9) |
33 (1.3) |
11 (0.4) |
163 (6.5) |
| Source 1:Climate-Data.org,altitude: 6m[8] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Levoyageur[9] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
[edit]As of 2019[update],the population of Loyada has been estimated to be 1,367.[10]The town's inhabitants belong to various mainlyAfro-Asiatic-speaking ethnic groups, with theIssaSomalipredominant.
References
[edit]- ^abMorin, Didier (1997).Poésie traditionnelle des Afars.Langues et cultures africaines (in French). Vol. 21. Paris: Peeters. p. 16 and note 1.ISBN9782877233637.Société d'études linguistiques et anthropologiques de France no. 364.
- ^Legum, Colin (1977).Africa Contemporary Record: Annual Survey and Documents.Vol. 9. p. B-428.ISBN9780841901582.
- ^Windrow, Martin; Braby, Wayne (1985).French Foreign Legion Paratroops.Elite Series No. 6. London: Osprey.ISBN9780850456295.(stating 31 children)
- ^Rouvez, Alain; Michael Coco; Jean-Paul Paddack (1994).Disconsolate Empires: French, British and Belgian Military Involvement in Post-Colonial Sub-Saharan Africa.Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. p. 166.ISBN9780819196439.
- ^Africa Contemporary Record: Annual Survey and Documents.Africana Publishing Company. 1998. p. 379.ISBN978-0-8419-0561-0.
- ^Africa South of the Sahara 2004.London: Europa. 2003. p. 360.
- ^"Djibouti".UNHCR Global Appeal 2010–2011.UNHCR.2010. p. 65.
- ^ab"Climate: Loyada - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table".Climate-Data.org.Retrieved1 October2013.
- ^"DJIBOUTI - DJIBOUTI: Climate, weather, temperatures".Levoyageur.Retrieved28 September2016.
- ^"City (town): Loyada: map, population, location".TipTopGlobe.Retrieved10 October2013.