High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Sahel was a former province of Eritrea until 1996, when it was absorbed into the present day Northern Red Sea region. Its capital was Nafka. The Provinces of Eritrea existed between Eritrea's incorporation as a Colony of Italy until the conversion of the provinces into administrative regions. When ruled as the Colony of Eritrea, the Italian Colonial Administration had divided the colony into eight provinces (administrative regions). These administrative regions relied heavily upon the historical political boundaries in the region, including, but not exclusively, that of local nobility. These Provinces of Eritrea were also used by the Federated Eritrean Government from 1952-1962 and as districts in Eritrea when it was annexed by Ethiopia from 1962-1991.