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Gode

Gode (Amharic: ጎዴ)(Somali: Godey, { is a city in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Shabelle Zone, the city was the capital of the Somali Region until 1995 when Jijiga became the capital

Gode Airport, also known as the Ugas Mirad Airport (IATA code GDE), has regular flights operated by Ethiopian Airlines. A bridge over the Shebelle River was built near Gode in 1964.

During the 1960s, in spite of the threat of tropical water diseases, the Ethiopian government launched the Webi Shabelle Valley Irrigation Programme which was based in Gode . However, attacks by the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) on French hydrologists resulted in the programme being scrapped.

Before the start of the Ogaden War, Gode was garrisoned by the 5th brigade of the 4th division of the Ethiopian Army, distributed around the town in five military camps. Gode's capture near the end of July 1977 by the Western Somali Liberation Front allowed the Somali forces to consolidate their hold on the Ogaden forces and concentrate on an advance that culminated in the capture of Jijiga.

The initial assault began at 3:00, when two Somali National Army (SNA) armoured and three mechanised brigades under the command of Colonel Abdillahi Askar launched their attack in the Ogaden at the direction of the city of Gode. Despite the 5th Ethiopian Brigade's defence of the town coming with success in the coming days they suffered heavily from air raids and Somali artillery, and Gode was captured by the Somalis on July 25. Without artillery or air support to cover their retreat, the Ethiopian defenders were effectively annihilated, with two entire Ethiopian divisions destroyed and only 489 out of the 2,350 militiamen managing to return to Harar, the rest presumed dead. Abdillahi earned himself the nickname the 'Lion of Gode' for his success.

According to the historical notes of the Somali Army, Gode was liberated on July 24, 1977 by the regular Somali Army under the leadership of then General Abdullahi Ahmed Irro and his deputy Major Abdulkadir Koosaar.

Despite the end of the Ogaden War, the WSLF retained full control of the Gode region long after the Somali Army had systematically withdrawn from the Ogaden in March 1978. Ethiopian units under Brigadier-General Demisse Bulto, commander of the First Revolutionary Army, recaptured Gode during Operation Lash in November 1980. Ethiopian troops used the city as one of its three bases to successfully clear the rest of eastern Ethiopia of Somali guerrillas by 3 December.

Gode has been at the center of several recent famines: one in 1981; the next in 1991, which required the UN High Commission for Refugees to airlift food to 80,000 people stranded outside the town; and most recently in 2000, which caused Gode to swell to a reported size of 100,000 inhabitants. This led John Graham to grimly remark in the Addis Observer, "The main claims to fame of Gode are not inspiring - they are famine and war."

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