
Korem (Agewugna: ኮረ/ Sun) (alternative forms include Quoram, Kworam) is a town and separate
woreda
Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after '' zones'' and the '' regional states''.
These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...
in
Tigray,
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 ...
. Located on the eastern edge of the
Ethiopian highlands
The Ethiopian Highlands is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , while the summits reach heights of up to ...
in the
Debubawi (Southern) Zone of the
Tigray Region
The Tigray Region, 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, Kunama people. Its ...
, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2539 meters above sea level and is located along
Ethiopian Highway 2
The A2 Highway is a Transport in Ethiopia#Highways, trunk road in Ethiopia. It connects the capital Addis Ababa with Mekelle, as well as with Wukro, Adigrat, Axum, Shire and Humera. Ethiopian the A2 has a length of .
Route
Towns and cities al ...
. Korem is located in the endoreic basin of the
Afar Triangle
The Afar Triangle (also called the Afar Depression) is a geological depression caused by the Afar Triple Junction, which is part of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. The region has disclosed fossil specimens of the very earliest hominins; th ...
. The streams near Korem do not reach the ocean.
Lake Ashenge is located six kilometers to the north of Korem. The town of Korem is surrounded by
Ofla woreda.
History
20th century
The
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
line the
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = Flag of Italy, The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, ...
constructed between 1902 and 1904 from
Asmara
Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The c ...
south to
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, ...
passed through the town, and had an office in Korem. Near the town on 9 October 1909,
Abraha Araya, governor of
Enderta, made a surprise attack at dawn on
Dejazmach
Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( gez, መሳፍንት , modern , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary nobility, formed the upper ...
Abate Bwalu
State motorcyclists' rights organizations (SMROs) exist in about 32 US states, 25 of which call themselves "ABATE of (state name)," the rest going by various other names. SMROs advocate for the motorcycle rider and freedom on the road. In the mot ...
, the new governor of Tigray. Abreha had declared that he would not submit to the Dejazmach.
["Local History in Ethiopia"]
(pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 10 January 2008)
During the
Second Italo-Ethiopian War
The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy and Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethio ...
, the Italians are said to have attacked Ethiopian soldiers near the town with shells releasing
mustard gas
Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...
, with instances of Italians using chemical weapons use at Korem recorded for March 16-18, and April 4-7, 1936. More certain are the reports that three planes of
Ethiopian Red Cross, sitting on the airstrip at Korem, were destroyed by Italian fighters.
[ In 1937, during the Italian occupation, the '']Arbegnoch
The Arbegnoch () were Ethiopian resistance fighters in Italian East Africa from 1936 until 1941. They were known to the Italians as shifta.
Organisation
The Patriot movement was mostly based in the rural Shewa, Gondar and Gojjam provinces, ...
'' sacked Korem, which was being held by the Italians. Minister of War Ras Abebe Aregai
'' Ras'' Abebe Aregai (18 August 1903 – 17 December 1960) was an Ethiopian military commander who, during the Italian occupation, led a group of resistance fighters (collectively known as the ''Arbegnoch'' or "Patriots") that operated in ...
, made Korem his headquarters during the Woyane rebellion. The main road northwards was finally cleared on 6 October.[
Korem was the location of one of the early refugee camps of the ]1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia
A widespread famine affected Ethiopia from 1983 to 1985. The worst famine to hit the country in a century, it affected 7.75 million people (out of Ethiopia's 38–40 million) and left approximately 300,000 to 1.2 million dead. 2.5 ...
, housing 35,500 children in April 1983. On 21 April, the TPLF raided the town, seizing humanitarian supplies and taking seven relief workers hostage, who included two British citizens from the Save the Children Fund. The hostages were released unharmed seven weeks later near the Sudan border, but Save the Children suspended operations in Korem until September of that year.[
From July 1983 up to March 1984 the monthly death toll in the Korem camp stayed under 100; then it shot up until October 1984, when the daily death toll topped 100 a day. What food aid there was in Korem in October 1984 was from the European Commission. Along with the camp at Atsbi, conditions in Korem were shown on BBC television on 23 and 24 October. UN Secretary-General ]Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra (; ; 19 January 1920 – 4 March 2020) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as Prime Min ...
and his wife visited the relief center in the following month. Although international assistance greatly improved conditions in the camp, they remained grim for the inmates, who were treated as prisoners. In January 1986, an estimated 12,000 of the camp population had fled into the surrounding hills for fear of being registered for involuntary resettlement
Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...
.[
]EPRDF
The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF; am, የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር, translit=Ye’Ītiyop’iya Ḥizibochi Ābiyotawī Dīmokirasīyawī Ginibari) was an eth ...
forces captured Maychew and Korem 8 September 1989, afterwards continuing their advance south along the main highway.[
]
Demographics
Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency
The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growt ...
of Ethiopia, this town has a total population of 16,856, of whom 7,532 are men and 9,324 women. 92.12% of the population said they were Orthodox Christians, and 7.65% were Muslim.Census 2007 Tables: Tigray Region
, Tables 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4.
The 1994 census reported it had a total population of 16,895 of whom 7,371 were males and 9,524 were females.
References
{{Districts of the Tigray Region
Populated places in the Tigray Region