Before the war: competition for economic and political dominance

Zalanbesa, a small border town, was an economically fast-growing centre in North-Eastern Tigray. Statistics put the population at 6,059, of whom 2,756 were males and 3,303 females (CSA 1995b). Zalanbesa benefited from being situated on the main road between Adigrat and Asmara. Commercial activity in the area gained momentum, after Zalanbesa became a border town following the independence of Eritrea. Food items and livestock were smuggled across the border to Eritrea while goods such as textiles and beer were brought to the Ethiopian market. Many of the town's residents benefited directly or indirectly from these activities.

Zalanbesa reflects in microcosm the difficult relationship between the two countries following Eritrea's independence. Only an estimated one-fifth of the population was Eritrean, but they were dominant among the well-off and trading classes. As a border town, Zalanbesa also represented the continuities and mixtures of identities. The socio-cultural homogeneity of villages and the cross-border bonds of kinship made the relationship more complex.