Korem is a town in northern Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. Located on the eastern edge of the Ethiopian highlands

Ethiopian Highlands

The Ethiopian Highlands are a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia, Eritrea , and northern Somalia in the Horn of Africa...

 in the Debubawi (Southern) Zone

Debubawi Zone

Debubawi is one of five Zones in the Ethiopian Region of Tigray. Debubawi is bordered on the south and west by the Amhara Region, on the northwest by Mehakelegnaw , the north by Misraqawi and on the east by the Afar Region...

 of the Tigray Region

Tigray Region

Tigray Region is the northernmost of the nine ethnic regions of Ethiopia containing the homeland of the Tigray people. It was formerly known as Region 1...

, this town has a latitude and longitude of 12°30′N 39°31′E with an elevation of 2539 meters above sea level.

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency

Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)

The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...

 in 2005, Korem has an estimated total population of 29,340 of whom 13,842 were males and 15,498 were females. The 1994 census reported it had a total population of 16,895 of whom 7,371 were males and 9,524 were females. It is the largest settlement in Ofla

Ofla

Ofla is one of the 36 woredas in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Debubawi Zone, Ofla is bordered on the south by Alamata, on the west by the Amhara Region, on the north by Endamehoni, and on the east by Raya Azebo...

 woreda

Woreda

Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...

.

History

The telegraph line the Italians

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 constructed between 1902 and 1904 from Asmara

Asmara

Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people...

 south to Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

 passed through the town, and had an office in Korem. Near the town on 9 October 1909, Abraha Araya, governor of Enderta

Enderta

Enderta may refer to:* Enderta province, a historic subdivision of Ethiopia* Enderta, a woreda within the Tigray Region of Ethiopia...

, made a surprise attack at dawn on Dejazmach Abate Bwalu, the new governor of Tigray. Abreha had declared that he would not submit to the Dejazmach.

During the Second Italo-Abyssinian War

Second Italo-Abyssinian War

The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...

, the Italians are said to have attacked Ethiopian soldiers near the town with shells releasing mustard gas. More certain are the reports that three planes of Ethiopian Red Cross

Ethiopian Red Cross Society

The Ethiopian Red Cross Society was founded and recognized by the ICRC in 1935. In 2002, it had 725,827 paying adult members and about 90,000 youth volunteers....

, sitting on the airstrip at Korem, were destroyed by Italian fighters. In 1937, during the Italian occupation

Italian East Africa

Italian East Africa was an Italian colonial administrative subdivision established in 1936, resulting from the merger of the Ethiopian Empire with the old colonies of Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea. In August 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to Italian East Africa...

, the arbegnoch sacked Korem, which was being held by the Italians. Minister of War Ras Abebe Aregai

Abebe Aregai

Ras Abebe Aregai was Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 27 November 1957 until his death. During the Italian occupation, he led a group of resistance fighters that operated in Menz and Shewa...

, made Korem his headquarters during the 1943 Woyane rebellion in Tigray. The main road northwards was finally cleared on 6 October.

Korem was the location of one of the early refugee camps of the 1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia

1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia

A widespread famine affected the inhabitants of today's Eritrea and Ethiopia from 1983 to 1985. In northern Ethiopia, famine led to more than 400,000 deaths; over half this mortality can be attributed to human rights abuses that caused the famine to come earlier, strike harder, and extend further...

, housing 35,500 children in April 1983. On 21 April, the TPLF raided the town, seizing humanitarian supplies and taking seven relief workers hostage, who included two British citizens from the Save the Children Fund. The hostages were released unharmed seven weeks later near the Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

 border, but Save the Children suspended operations in Korem until September of that year.

From July 1983 up to March 1984 the monthly death toll in the Korem camp stayed under 100; then it shot up until October 1984, when the daily death toll topped 100 a day. What food aid there was in Korem in October 1984 was from the European Commission. Along with the camp at Atsbi

Atsbi

Atsbi is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi Zone of the Tigray Region, about 50 kilometers northeast of Qwiha, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2630 meters above sea level...

, conditions in Korem were shown on BBC television on 23 and 24 October. UN Secretary-General Pérez de Cuéllar and his wife visited the relief center in the following month. Although international assistance greatly improved conditions in the camp, they remained grim for the inmates, who were treated as prisoners. In January 1986, an estimated 12,000 of the camp population had fled into the surrounding hills for fear of being registered for involuntary resettlement.

EPRDF forces captured Maychew

Maychew

Maychew is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located 190 kilometers north of Dessie on the Addis Ababa - Asmara highway in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2479 meters...

and Korem 8 September 1989, afterwards continuing their advance south along the main highway.