 Korem was the location of one of the early refugee camps of the 1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia, housing 35,500 children in April 1983.On 21 April, the TPLF raided the town, seizing humanitarian supplies and taking seven relief workers hostage, who included two British citizens from the Save the Children Fund.The hostages were released unharmed seven weeks later near the Sudan border, but Save the Children suspended operations in Korem until September of that year.