Rama (also called Mai Lala, Lala) is a town in

Tigray The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. It is located 35 km north of the town of

Adwa Adwa (; ; also spelled Adowa or Aduwa) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the site of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian soldiers defeated Italian troops, thus being ...

and 7 kilometers from the border with

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

, in the Mehakelegnaw (Central) Zone of the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

. The town occupies a fertile lowland area and has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1385 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Mereb Lehe

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas (; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''List of zones of Ethiopia, zones'' and the ''Regions of Ethiopia, regional states''. These districts are f ...

History

20th Century

In 1935, this was the location of the Gondrand massacre used as a major propaganda tool by

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...

. A point of interest in Rama is the nearby church, Kor Nebir Mikael. Records at the Nordic Africa Institute website provide details of a primary school in Rama in 1968. On 29 September 1988, armed units of the

Tigray People's Liberation Front The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ), also known as the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing Ethnic nationalism, ethnic nationalist, paramilitary group, and the former ruling party of Ethiopia. It was classified as a ter ...

overran Rama, killing 21 and capturing 854 government soldiers. This required the

Derg The Derg or Dergue (, ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when they formally "Civil government, civilianized" the ...

to send a force to recover this important settlement on the road to

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

, but it was not until late December that the 10th division of the Second Revolutionary Army fought its way into the town, only to be withdrawn a week before the decisive Battle of Shire.

21st Century

In January, 2005, the

United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) was established by the United Nations Security Council in July 2000 to monitor a ceasefire in the border war that began in 1998 between Ethiopia and Eritrea. First military troops Nethe ...

reported that MECHEM had removed

land mines A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whi ...

from 12 kilometers of track leading to Rama. These mines had been laid during the Eritrean-Ethiopian War. During the 2020-2021 Tigray War, attacks were carried out on Rama by the joint Ethiopian and Eritrean armies. On 19 December 2020, a foreign diplomat stated that “thousands” of

n soldiers are engaged in Tigray. Two diplomats stated that Eritrean troops entered Ethiopia through three northern border towns:

Zalambessa Zalambessa ( Tigrigna: ዛላምበሳ) is a town located in Tigray, Ethiopia. Zalambessa is part of the Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone of the Tigray Region. It is about 42 kilometers north of Adigrat. The Serha-Zalambesa border crossing is located in ...

, Rama and

Badme Badme (, ) is a town in Gash-Barka region of Eritrea. Control of the town was at the centre of the Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict, which lasted from the beginning of the Eritrean–Ethiopian War, in 1998, to the signing of a joint stateme ...

.Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 31 - 20 December
Europe External Programme with Africa

Demographics

Based on figures from the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency, also known as the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS; Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ስታቲስቲክስ አገልግሎት), is an Ethiopian government agency designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that ...

in 2005, this town had an estimated total population of 7,824 of whom 3,705 were males and 4,119 were females.CSA 2005 National Statistics
Table B.4 The 1994 census reported it had a total population of 4,504 of whom 1,973 were males and 2,531 were females. Rama is also the main fruit source in Tigray, the largest dam of irrigation was built in this town. since the demand for fruits like mango, orange, banana, and others has been increasing in Tigray esp in Mekelle the government of Tigray proposed the dam to be made and now it is starting it function. in Rama there are 2 elementary schools( RSSS and Memanu elementar) RSSS was built when haileselassie was on power, 1 high school and 1 preparatory.

References

{{reflist Populated places in the Tigray Region