During the Eritrean War of Independence (1961–1991), Tessenei was repeatedly bombed, and was subject to severe fighting because of its proximity to the borders of Sudan, from which the Eritrean insurgents receive weapons and supplies, but it was also the first to be liberated in 1988, having suffered extensive damage. Outside Teseney, just beyond Haykota, is a monument to Hamid Idris Awate, who fired the first shots in the Eritrean liberation struggle in September 1961.