Shiraro, Ethiopia
| Sheraro | |
|---|---|
 Sheraro
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| Coordinates: 14°23′45″N 37°46′23″E / 14.39583°N 37.77306°ECoordinates: 14°23′45″N 37°46′23″E / 14.39583°N 37.77306°E | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Region | Tigray |
| Zone | Semien Mi'irabawi (North Western) |
| Elevation | 1,246 m (4,088 ft) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 17,045 |
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) |
Sheraro (ሸራሮ) is a town and separate woreda in northern Ethiopia. It is located in the Semien Mi'irabawi Zone of the Tigray Region, at an elevation of 1246 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Tahtay Adiyabo.
Between January 1995 and June 1998, SUR Construction built two road segments connecting Shiraro with Shire to the east and Humera to the west, totalling in length 139.5 kilometers.
Along with Zana, Sheraro was an early hotbed of Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) support. According to Gebru Tareke, the TPLF made Sheraro its base between 1979-1980, not only creating a support infrastructure there but also cultivating the land to grow cereals such as corn and sorghum, and cash crops like sesame. Eventually the Derg, the ruling military junta of Ethiopia, directed a military campaign to crush the TPLF at its base. On 12 February 1980, they launched Operation Sheraro, in which four brigades of 4,000 men under the command of Colonel Tariku Ayne advanced first to the TPLF base on the Sur River, which they destroyed then on 25 February departed for Shiraro, which they found deserted and the TPLF positioned on the heights. On the next day, although without intelligence about their opponents, the Derg soldiers advanced into an open field -- where the TPLF ambushed them. After four hours of fierce fighting, the four brigades of the defenders dissolved and the men retreated in disarray. Their casualties were 117 dead (including three battalion and three company commanders) and 292 wounded (including 11 officers).
When the Derg evacuated the town for the last time in 1985, allegedly the soldiers left land mines and hidden bombs which injured some people who had returned from hiding in the countryside. Shiraro was subjected to an aerial attack by Derg aircraft 12 December 1988, which killed 8 people.
Sheraro experienced shelling on 21 October 1998, during the Eritrean-Ethiopian War. Its inhabitants and refugees from the surrounding area who had sought safety in the town, fled to a camp near Zeban Gedena, about 15 kilometers to the southeast.
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