The port was besieged by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) against the forces of Ethiopia and was one of two battles in and around the city.

Though they remained in government hands, Asmara, Barentu, Adi Keyeh, and Massawa were now besieged by the insurgents.

On 21st December 1977, the EPLF managed to overrun the city's main defensive perimeter, forcing the Ethiopian defenders to pull back to the Abd-el Kader and Gherar peninsulas and the islands, where they were protected by naval support.

[2][1] On December 23rd, the EPLF launched a massive frontal assault on the final Ethiopian positions on the peninsulas.

The EPLF was forced to pull back for a long siege, before completely withdrawing to Semhar in July 1978.