Maychew, also Maichew (Tigrinya: ማይጨው, "salt water"), is a town and woreda in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is located at 665 km north of Addis Ababa along Ethiopian Highway 2. According to Ethiopia’s agro-ecological setting, Maychew and its environs are classified under the Weinadega (semi-temperate zone). Maychew is located in the endoreic basin of the Afar Triangle. The streams near Maychew do not reach the ocean.
Near Maychew, on March 31, 1936, the conclusive battle of the Italian invasion of Ethiopia was fought. By means of more sophisticated and powerful weaponry and superior numbers, along with modern training, the Italians routed the Ethiopian forces, and six weeks later marched unopposed into the capital, Addis Ababa. The battle of Maychew was despairing for the emperor.
During the Italian occupation, the inhabitants included about 500 local population and 22 Italians. Facilities included telephone service, an infirmary, a gas station, restaurant, and a Tuesday market.[2]
In the early years of the Ethiopian Civil War, the Derg required that all vehicles travelling north from Maychew be restricted to convoys. By 1980, convoys were deemed necessary to move even the 20 kilometers from Maychew to Mehoni. During the 1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia, the commander of the First Division, Colonel Hailu Gebre Yohannis, ordered the theft of food stocks from the NGO World Vision in Maychew to feed his hungry troops. By 8 September 1989, Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front forces had captured Maychew and Korem, and afterwards advanced along the main highway southwards.[2]
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