20th Century In 1935, this was the location of the
Gondrand massacre used as a major propaganda tool by
Mussolini. 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 overran Rama, killing 21 and capturing 854 government soldiers. This required the
Derg to send a force to recover this important settlement on the road to
Asmara, 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until late December that the 10th division of the Second Revolutionary Army fought its way into the town, only to be withdrawn a week before the decisive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 reported that MECHEM had removed
land mines 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
Eritrean soldiers are engaged in Tigray. Two diplomats stated that Eritrean troops entered Ethiopia through three northern border towns:
Zalambessa, Rama and
Badme. == Demographics ==