Shimelis appeared with Ethiopia in 2012 AFCON Qualifying, and emerged as one of the best players in Iffy Onuora's team which was eliminated from the final stages of the tournament.
On September 17, 2010, Harambee Stars coach Twahir Muhiddin quit as coach of the Kenya national football team following Kenya's 1-0 loss to Guinea-Bissau in the 2012 AFCON qualifiers.