Awasa

Awasa (sometimes spelled Awassa or Hawassa) is a city in Ethiopia. It is on the shores of Lake Awasa in the Great Rift Valley. The city is the capital of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region. It is on the Trans-African Highway 4 to Cairo-Cape Town. It has 165,275 people (2012).

Hawassa አዋሳ Awassa
City
Church St. Gabriel in Awasa
Hawassa Where Awasa is in Ethiopia
Coordinates: 7°3′N 38°28′E
Country	Ethiopia
Region	Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples
Woreda	Awasa Zuria
Government
• Type	Democratic
Area
• Total	50 km2 (20 sq mi)
Elevation	1,708 m (5,604 ft)
Population
• Total	165,275
• Density	3,300/km2 (8,600/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
Area code	46

The city was once the capital of the Sidamo Province from 1978 to 1995; when the 1995 Constitution was adopted and the province was abolished. The city also has Hawassa University, which was created in 1999. 194 members of the Sidama Liberation Movement were arrested and held in Awasa prison in September 1994. The chairman fled to the United Kingdom after someone tried to assassinate him.