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 603 Army Corps was ambushed by 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 ...

(TPLF) as it was leaving its base at Dansha, resulting in around 2,000 government casualties. Dansha was part of Begemder Province 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 areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

were formed in 1992 after the Ethiopian Civil War, Dansha became part 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 ...

. During the 4 November Northern Command Attacks, forces loyal to the

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

attacked the Fifth Battalion of the Northern Command of the

Ethiopian National Defense Force The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) () is the combined military force of Ethiopia. ENDF is consisted of 10 command forces which is controlled by the Chief of General Staff. Commanders of the Military Supreme Commander – Taye At ...

in Dansha. This was one of the primary causes of the Tigray war. The clashes that ensued resulted in significant destruction to the town.

Transportation

Dansha is served by Dansha Airport, 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 ...

and Humera.

References

Populated places in the Tigray Region {{Tigray-geo-stub