Burayu (Oromo: Burraayyuu; Amharic: ቡራዩ) is a town and woreda in Oromia Region, Ethiopia, located in the Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne in the Oromia Region, directly adjacent to the Oromo and national capital Addis Ababa (known as Finfinne in Oromia). With the growth of the capital in recent decades and urban sprawl, the town has faced considerable economic and demographic pressures; its population leapt from around 10,000 in 1994 to an estimated 150,000 two decades later, as people, including many from the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, migrated from the countryside looking for work, and residents of Addis Ababa pushed outwards seeking cheaper housing.[2]
Burayu
| |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Burayu Location in Ethiopia | |
| Coordinates: 9°02′07″N 38°39′39″E / 9.03528°N 38.66083°E | |
| Country |  Ethiopia |
| Region |  Oromia |
| Zone | Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne |
| Population (2007)[1] | |
| • Total | 48,876 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
In 2018, a massacre occurred amid communal clashes with individuals from the Oromo and Dorze ethnicities fighting in and around Burayu, in which 55 people were killed.[2]
On 19 January 2022, during the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian religious festival Timkat, Oromo police shot into a crowd of Ethiopian Orthodox parishioners of the Saint Mary Church at Burayu. The security forces of Oromia killed two believers and several people were injured, including elderly, women and children. This incident was said to have happened because of the flag that the parishioners used, a green, yellow and red flag with the Ethiopian Orthodox logo over it.[3]
References edit
- ^ "Ethiopia: Cities & Towns". Citypopulation. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ a b Manek, Nizar; Tasfaye, Ermias (26 September 2018). "Mob killings split Ethiopians as political fault lines test Abiy's big tent". Ethiopia Insight.
- ^ "News: Oromia Police shot dead two, injure several others at Timket festival over flag controversy". Addis Standard. 22 January 2022.
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