Hagere Selam

History

The history of Hagere Selam is strongly confounded with the history of Tembien. For a long time, Melfa, west of Hagere Selam, was the capital of Tembien; later on, the administration was established in Abiy Addi as it was easier of access. In 1951, Gebru Gebrehiwot, the new governor, decided to create a new capital of Tembien. First the location of Melfa was chosen. As the inhabitants of Melfa rejected the idea, Hagere Selam was created as a new town. It used already to be an open air market place (hence the name "Idaga Hamus" or Thursday market) – the place was a strategically located mountain saddle, also called "May Aleqti". The new town grew then from the pre-existing settlements May Aleqti and Addi Hailom. In practice, the capital remained in Abiy Addi. It was only after the district of Dogu’a Tembien was created that Hagere Selam started to grow. Basic modern infrastructure (electricity, tap water) came only in the early years 2000. A fire was detected during the night of Dec. 15-16 within Hagere Selam town. An EEPA report stated that this corroborated reports of ongoing attacks in the area. On 21 December 2020, an EEPA report stated that ENDF soldiers killed ‘many’ in Hagere Selam. They had come to the town to take revenge after they lost a battle against Tigray Defence Forces. In the subsequent days the town Hagere Selam was ‘entirely’ looted by Eritrean soldiers fighting on the side of the ENDF. They went door to door, forcing their way in and taking what they could. In Hagere Selam there was no water and little food and the hospital was in a dire situation as medical supplies were running critically low. It could not refer patients to the main Ayder referral hospital in Mekelle.

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2026-01-21
  56 km NE of Mek'ele, Ethiopia
• M 4.4 — 2026-01-21
  52 km NE of Mek'ele, Ethiopia
• M 4.5 — 2026-01-04
  68 km NE of Mek'ele, Ethiopia
• M 4.4 — 2025-11-01
  39 km ENE of Mek'ele, Ethiopia
• M 4.4 — 2025-10-20
  55 km ESE of Ādīgrat, Ethiopia
• M 4.5 — 2025-10-20
  44 km SE of Ādīgrat, Ethiopia