Sasiga

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Sasiga is a woreda in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, part of the Misraq Welega Zone. It is bordered by Diga Leka to the south, the Benishangul-Gumuz Region to the west, Limmu to the northwest, an exclave of Benishangul-Gumuz to the north, and Guto Wayu to the east. The administrative center is Galo, and other towns include Handhura Balo, Bareda, Angar, Arb Gebeya, Ehud Gebeya, Gute, and Tsige.

The area has rolling hills and several rivers, such as the Karsa, Gumbi, Hare, Didiga, Kobo, and Bege. Land use is uneven: about 11.9% arable, 2.8% pasture, 1.6% forest, and 83.7% swampy or unusable. Forests include Danbi, Laga Ayya, Baloo, Bareda, Gumbi, and the Tsige State Forest, with landmarks like Kolobo Cave and the Bereda and Cumbi Falls. Coffee is important here, with over 5,000 hectares under plantation. Industry consists of three grain mills, and there are seven Farmers Associations (5,272 members) and five Farmers Service Cooperatives (4,727 members).

Sasiga has 54 kilometers of dry-weather roads and no all-weather roads, giving a road density of 57.6 kilometers per 1,000 square kilometers. About 11% of residents have access to drinking water.

In 2003, Sasiga was one of six woredas in Misraq Welega chosen for resettlement; 40,641 people were moved from Hararghe and Semien Shewa, later reduced to 37,879 due to crop failures.

In May 2008, reports from the Angar and Didessa hill areas described the massacre of about 400 Oromo people by Gumuz from the Benishangul-Gumuz Region. The OFDM claimed the government tried to cover up these events.

Population data show 80,814 people in the 2007 census (41,326 men and 39,488 women), with 2,573 urban dwellers (3.18%). Religions were 62.7% Protestant, 21.55% Muslim, and 14.21% Ethiopian Orthodox. The 1994 census recorded 44,892 people (22,246 men and 22,646 women), with 2,423 urban dwellers (5.4%). The Oromo made up about 96.15% of the population, Amhara 3.34%, and others 0.51%. Oromiffa was spoken by 96.78%, Amharic by 2.94%, and other languages by 0.28%. Religions then were 60.14% Protestant, 36.15% Ethiopian Orthodox, and 2.56% Muslim.