Debarwa
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| Debarwa | |
  Debarwa
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country |  Eritrea |
| Region | Debub |
| District | Debarwa District |
| Population | |
| - Total | 25,000 |
Debarwa (Tigrinya: ድባርዋ) is a market town with a population of about 25,000 in central Eritrea, about 25 kilometers south of the capital Asmara. It is the capital of the Debarwa District (Tsilima) in the Debub ("Southern") Administrative Region (one of five in Eritrea). A High School and Junior school serve the local villages, while telephone and mail services are provided for the outlying population.
The majority of the population in Debarwa belongs to the Bihér-Tigrigna (Tigrinya speaking ethnic group) and to the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. Local people bring produce such as potatoes, tomatoes, chickens and grain to the market every Saturday. Aside from being a market town, it is also a mining town with resources of high grade gold, copper, silver and zinc, and an important transport route between the south-west corner of Zoba Debub and Asmara. The Japanese company Hitachi once operated a mine near Debarwa, but it was shut down in the 1960s due to the outbreak of the war for Eritrean independence from Ethiopia.
[edit] History
Debarwa was formerly the capital of an ancient Kingdom named Midre Bahri which roughly translates as sealand, and was ruled by the Bahr negus (King of the sea). The Ottomans invaded part of Midre Bahri in 1557, and for several decades struggled with Ethiopia for control, but by the reign of Susenyos were confined to Suakin, Massawa, Hergigo and immediate hinterlands.
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