Eritrean Liberation Front
Tension mounted in the region in the 1960s and 1970s with the establishment of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF). They eventually liberated the town from the Ethiopian authorities in 1977 until July 1978 until recaptured and appointed as a military post by the Derg. The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) occupied the vicinity in the 1980s, and in June 1981, the first of a series of battles took place in the area, particularly near Mai Numa and along the road to Tokombia.