The Ogaden is a region of eastern Ethiopia that borders Somalia and a small part of Djibouti. In 2012, the region had a population of 5,148,989 people, most of whom were Muslim Somalis; as a cultural core of Somalia, the Ogaden was a flashpoint of Ethiopian-Somali border disputes for many years. In 1977-1978, Somalia attempted to seize the Ogaden from Ethiopia through military conquest, but Ethiopia repulsed the Somali invasion with Soviet and Cuban assistance.