Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
Wemberta was occupied by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) in 1978. Local "shifta" (or brigands) are said to have joined the EPRP and robbed woreda inhabitants, using the political organization as a cover. They killed at least one man known as Hagos Tesfu. However, when the EPRP left, the "shifta" remained in the area. The Derg then organized the local people against these "shifta", which resulted with one killed, one fleeing to the Afar Depression, and four being executed. In 1980, the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front took control of the area, which resulted in numerous military campaigns by the Derg; woreda inhabitants were arrested or killed by the military, their livestock were killed and married women raped.