Bambashi is located on the Gimbi-Assosa road, making the town one of the few in the Region accessible by motor vehicle with the rest of Ethiopia.

The town was captured by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) on 7 January 1990, and six Cuban doctors and nurses were taken hostages after five days of heavy fighting.

[4] The following month, the OLF clandestine radio reported that the group had killed 84 government soldiers in a clash between Bambasi and Mendi.

[3] On 2 April 2007, local Muslims in Bambasi raided the house of evangelist Tolosa Megersa, resulting in the death of six of his cattle and sheep.

Five days later, the home of another local Christian leader, Lemmu Abdissa, was raided resulting in the destruction of all his property including 8,815 pounds of grain.