Arta, Djibouti
Arta (, ) is a town in southeastern Djibouti. The center of the Arta Region, it is the country's sixth-largest city. , the population was 11,043. Arta is situated on the Mountains of Arta and is famous for its mild climate. It is located some west of the national capital, Djibouti City. History Arta was a small village when the French created their French Somaliland. During the Middle Ages, it was ruled by the Ifat and Adal Sultanates subsequently came under Ottoman and French protection in the 18th century. Arta later formed a part of the French Somaliland protectorate in the first half of the 20th century. In the December 1942 British invasion of French Somaliland, about 700 British troops and Free French troops occupied the town. Under French colonial rule in 1946, a new housing estate and hill station was built. Arta's climate lent itself to becoming the prime sanctuary of the French civil servants in Djibouti. The region of Arta is inhabited of the popular ethnic group of Djibouti, the Issa, formulated the "Declaration of Arta", in which they professed cohesion under the protection of France. They argued against the influence of the large independent neighboring countries of