Dansha is a town in
Tigray, Ethiopia, located in the northwestern part of the country.
History
On July 7, 1988, during the
Ethiopian Civil War
The Ethiopian Civil War was a civil war in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea, fought between the Ethiopian military junta known as the Derg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991.
The Derg overthre ...
, the
Ethiopia government's Third Revolutionary Army's 604 Army Corps was ambushed by the
Tigray People's Liberation Front
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ti, ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ, lit=Popular Struggle for the Freedom of Tigray), also called the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist paramilitar ...
(TPLF) as it was leaving its base at Dansha, resulting in around 3,000 government casualties.
Dansha was part of
Begemder Province
Begemder ( amh, በጌምድር; also known as Gondar or Gonder, alternative name borrowed from its 20th century capital Gondar) was a province in northwest Ethiopia.
Etymology
A plausible source for the name ''Bega'' is that the word means " ...
until the
1987 Constitution of Ethiopia
The Constitution of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (), also known as the 1987 Constitution of Ethiopia, was the third constitution of Ethiopia, and went into effect on 22 February 1987 after a referendum on 1 February of that year. ...
divided the country into regions on September 18, 1987, at which time Dansha became a part of North Gonder Region. When the current
regions
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
were formed in 1992 after the Ethiopian Civil War, Dansha became part of the
Tigray Region
The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is ...
.
During the
4 November Northern Command Attacks
On 3–4 November 2020, forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) launched attacks on the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) Northern Command headquarters in Mekelle and bases in Adigrat, Agula, Dansha, and Sero in the ...
, forces loyal to the
TPLF
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ti, ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ, lit=Popular Struggle for the Freedom of Tigray), also called the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist paramilitar ...
attacked the Fifth Battalion of the Northern Command of the
Ethiopian National Defense Force
The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) ( am, የኢፌዲሪ መከላከያ ሠራዊት, Ye’īfēdērī mekelakeya šerawīt, lit=FDRE Defense Force) is the military force of Ethiopia. Civilian control of the military is carried out t ...
in Dansha. This was one of the primary causes of 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 Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray Peop ...
. The clashes that ensued resulted in significant destruction to the town.
Transportation
Dansha is served by
Dansha Airport
Dansha Airport is an airport serving Dansha, a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The airport is northwest of the town.
See also
*
*
*Transport in Ethiopia
*List of airports in Ethiopia
This is a list of airports in Ethiopia, grouped by ...
, northwest of the town. Dansha is located on the main road between
Gondar
Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on t ...
and
Humera
Humera (; ) is a town in the Kafta Humera woreda in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Western Zone the town has an elevation of above sea level. The Tekezé river borders the town to the north. Humera is a very important regional a ...
.
References
Populated places in the Tigray Region
{{Tigray-geo-stub