Assab or Aseb (, ) is a port city in the
Southern Red Sea Region of
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
. It is situated on the west coast of the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
.
Languages spoken in Assab are predominantly
Afar
Afar may refer to:
Peoples and languages
*Afar language, an East Cushitic language
*Afar people, an ethnic group of Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia
Places Horn of Africa
*Afar Desert or Danakil Desert, a desert in Ethiopia
*Afar Region, a region ...
,
Tigrinya, and
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
. Assab is known for its large
market, beaches and
nightlife
Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
.
History
Assab is about 50 km NW of the ancient city of
Arsinoe Epidires.
On 15 November 1869 the port of Assab was bought by the
Rubattino Shipping Company of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
from the local Sultan. After the Italian government took over control of the port on 5 July 1882 it laid the foundations for the formation of the colony of
Italian Eritrea, which became the independent country of
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
following its independence from the
Transitional Government of Ethiopia in the 1990s.
Construction of an
oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt, asphalt ...
began in 1964 and it opened in 1967. By 1989, Assab had a population of 39,600 inhabitants. The port facilities were greatly expanded in the early 1990s, with the construction of a new terminal. The oil refinery was shut down for economic reasons in 1997.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...
used Assab as the port for two-thirds of its trade with the world until the
Eritrean–Ethiopian War
The Eritrean–Ethiopian War, also known as the Badme War, was a major armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea that took place from May 1998 to June 2000. The war has its origins in a territorial dispute between the two states. After Eritr ...
broke out in 1998. Borders between Eritrea and Ethiopia closed and trade with Ethiopia ceased. The port and the port town declined and by 2005 the population had dropped to an estimated 20,222 inhabitants.
21st century
In 2008, following a border dispute with neighbouring
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Re ...
and consequently an unsafe border between the countries, which saw forces from
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
acting as mediators in a buffer zone, the role of Assab diminished further.
During the
Tigray War
The Tigray War; ; . was an armed conflict that lasted from 3 November 2020 to 3 November 2022. The war was primarily fought in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia between the Government of Ethiopia, Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one s ...
, Assab was also involved. Offensives of joint
ENDF-
Amhara-Eritrean forces into Tigray were facilitated by the intervention of "
Pterosaurus" drones, launched by the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
from its base in Assab. The Chinese-made armed drones bombed Tigrayan towns and defence forces.
[YouUAV.com, 4 December 2020](_blank)
/ref> EEPA has provided a summarised translation of the Chinese article. On 19 December 2020, an EEPA report mentioned that Egyptian officials and a European diplomat state that the UAE have used its base in Assab to launch armed drone strikes against Tigray. The investigative platform Bellingcat
Bellingcat (stylised as bell¿ngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 20 ...
further confirmed the presence of Chinese-produced drones at the UAE's military base in Assab.[Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 31 - 20 December](_blank)
Europe External Programme with Africa
Infrastructure
Assab is served by Assab International Airport
Assab International Airport is an international airport in Assab, the capital of the Southern Red Sea region of Eritrea.
Characteristics
It serves as a dual public and military facility. The airport has an 11,531 ft (3,515 m) asphalt runwa ...
. The United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
reportedly uses the port and airport for logistics, and as a detention center.
Climate
Assab has the typical hot desert climate
The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in deser ...
(Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
''BWh'') of the Danakil Region. The city's climate is arid and extremely hot, with an extremely low average annual rainfall of . Assab experiences high temperatures during both the day and the night, with the annual mean average temperature approaching .
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 13, 01, N, 42, 44, E, region:ER_type:city, display=title
Regional capitals in Eritrea
Southern Red Sea Region
Populated places in Eritrea
Port cities in Eritrea
Russian and Soviet Navy bases
Port cities and towns of the Red Sea