Halhal (), also spelled Hal-Hal, is a town in the Anseba

region 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 ...

(Zoba Anseba) of

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 ...

. It is the capital of the Halhal

subregion A subregion is a part of a larger geographical region or continent. Cardinal directions are commonly used to define subregions. There are many criteria for creating systems of subregions; this article is focusing on the United Nations geoschem ...

, and is sometimes known as Fisho (from Italian ''officiale'') to distinguish it from the subregion as a whole. It is chiefly populated by the Bet tawqe subtribe of the blien people . The town and surrounding area saw intense fighting during the

Eritrean War of Independence The Eritrean War of Independence was an War, armed conflict and insurgency aimed at achieving self-determination and independence for Eritrea from Ethiopian rule. Starting in 1961, Eritrean insurgents engaged in guerrilla warfare to liberate ...

. In 1968, the Ethiopian Army commando post there was attacked by Omer Ezaz of the

Eritrean Liberation Front The Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF; ; ; ), colloquially known as Jebha, was the main Eritrean War of Independence, independence movement in Eritrea Province, Eritrea which sought Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia during the 1960s and the ear ...

(ELF); Ezaz and about 70 of his soldiers were killed. The town was later taken by the ELF, and was controlled by the ELF from 1970 to 1981, when as a result of the Second Eritrean Civil War, control passed to the

Eritrean People's Liberation Front The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), colloquially known as Shabia, was an armed Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist organization that fought for the Eritrean War of Independence, independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1 ...

. From 1983 to Eritrean independence in 1991, the town was controlled by the Ethiopian Army, except for a brief period of EPLF control in the spring of 1988 following the

Battle of Afabet The Battle of Afabet was a three-day battle fought from 17 March through 20 March 1988 in and around the town of Afabet, as part of the Eritrean War of Independence. The battle has been described as being the largest battle in Africa since the ...

References

Works cited

Statoids.com
retrieved December 9, 2010 *{{Cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYsgpIc3mrsC&pg=PA285, title=Historical Dictionary of Eritrea, year=2000, author1=Dan Connell , author2=Tom Killion , ref={{harvid, Historical Dictionary of Eritrea, 2010, isbn=0810875055, edition=2nd Anseba region Villages in Eritrea