Assab

Assab (or Aseb, anciently Avalites) is a port city in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea on the west coast of the Red Sea. In 1989, it had a population of 39,600. Assab possesses an oil refinery which was shut down in 1997 for economical reasons. Nearby is the site of the ancient city of Arsinoe.

In 1869 it was bought by the Rubattino Shipping Company from the local Sultan, and was acquired by Italy (1882) who found the port inadequate for exploitation of its hinterlands, and came to use Assab as a coal station for shipping.[1] The Soviet Union later built an oil refinery there. During the twentieth century Assab became Ethiopia's main port. During the Eritrean War of Independence and famine of the 1980s, food aid was brought to Eritrea and the Ethiopian province of Tigray through this port.

The port facilities were greatly expanded in the early 1990s, with the construction of the new terminal, but the port has declined since trade with Ethiopia was terminated in 1998 (see Eritrean-Ethiopian War). Assab is known for its large market, beaches and nightlife and is home to an airport.

It is also the HQ of UNMEE UN Military Observers for Sector East.