During the first years of the Ethiopian Civil War, the fledgling Tigrayan People's Liberation Front drew support from these groups. Derg forces took Adigrat during their Operation Adwa in summer 1988. The same day that the Third Revolutionary Army was crushed at Battle of Shire, 19 February 1989, government troops and officials evacuated Adigrat. According to Africa Watch they caused widespread destruction in the town before they left. A pharmaceutical factory which became operational in 1997, was set up in the town.