Eritrean War of Independence
Part of Conflicts in Africa
Date 1961-09-01 - 1991-05-29 Location Eritrea Result Eritrean independence
Combatants
Eritrean Liberation Front Eritrean People's Liberation Front	Ethiopia Cuba

The Eritrean War of Independence started on 1 September 1961 when Hamid Idris Awate and his companions fired the first shots against the occupying Ethiopian Army and Police. In 1962 the Emperor Haile Sellassie of Ethiopia unilaterally dissolved the Eritrean parliament and annexed the country. The war went on for the next 30 years until in 1991, having defeated the Ethiopian forces in Eritrea, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) took control of the country. In April of 1993, in a referendum supported by Ethiopia, the Eritrean people voted almost unanimously in favour of independence. Formal international recognition of an independent and sovereign Eritrea followed later the same year. A, thus far incomplete, list of conflicts in Africa (arranged by Country), including; Wars between African nations Civil Wars within African nations Colonial Wars/Conflicts in Africa Wars of Independence in African nations Secessionist/Separatist Conflicts in Africa Major episodes of violence (riots, massacres, etc. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... Image File history File links ELF.png‎ Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Wikipedia does not yet have a page called Eritrean Liberation Front. ... Image File history File links EPLF.png‎ Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF) was an armed organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ethiopia_(1975-1987,_1991-1996). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Cuba. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Hamid Idris Awate (1911-1962) fired the first shot against the Ethiopian colonial forces on 1961-09-01 at Mount Adal, Eritrea. ... Haile Selassie Haile Selassie (Power of Trinity) (July 23, 1892 – August 27, 1975) was the last Emperor (1930–1936; 1941–1974) of Ethiopia, and is a religious symbol in the Rastafarian movement. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF) was an armed organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

Revolution

During the 1960s, the Eritrean independence struggle was led by the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF). This group originally divided the liberation of Eritrea based on ethnic and geographical divisions. The initial four zonal commands of the ELF were all lowland areas and primarily Muslim. Few Christians joined the organization in the beginning, fearing Muslim domination.^[1] After growing disenfranchisment with Ethiopian occupation highland Christians began joining the ELF. Typically these Christians were part of the upper classes or University educated. This growing influx Christian volunteers prompted the opening of the fifth (highland Christian) command. Internal struggles within the ELF command coupled with sectarian violence among the various zonal groups splintered the organization. The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Wikipedia does not yet have a page called Eritrean Liberation Front. ...

Struggle

In 1970, members of the group had a falling out, and several different groups broke away from the ELF. During this time the ELF and the groups that would later join together to form the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) would fight a bitter Civil War. The two organizations were forced by popular will to reconcile in 1974 and participated in joint operations against Ethiopia. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... The Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF) was an armed organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. ...

In 1974 Emperor Haile Sellassie was ousted in a coup in 1974. The new Ethiopian Government, called the Derg, was a Marxist military junta led by strongman Mengistu Haile Mariam. With this change of government Ethiopia came under the influence of the Soviet Union. 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... {{For the athletic meaning, see strength athlete}} A strongman is a political leader who rules by force and runs an authoritarian regime. ... Mengistu Haile Mariam (born 1937) was the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. ...

Many of these groups that splintered from the ELF joined together in 1977 and formed the EPLF. By the late 1970s, the EPLF had become the dominant armed Eritrean group fighting against the Ethiopian Government. The leader Secretary-General of the EPLF Ramadan Mohammed Nur while the Assistant Secretary-General was Isaias Afewerki.^[2] Much of the equipment used to combat Ethiopia was captured from the Ethiopian Army. For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki shake hands in Eritrea Isaias Afewerki (born 2 February 1945) is the first president of Eritrea. ...

During this time the Derge could not control the population by force alone. To supplement control by garrison, forces would be deployed on missions to instill fear in the population. An illustrative example of this policy was the village of Basik Dera in northern Eritrea. On 17 November 1970 the entire village was rounded up into the local mosque and the mosque's doors were locked, the building was then razed and survivors were shot. Such massacres took place in primarily Muslim parts of Eritrea, including the villages of She'eb, Hirgigo, Elabared, and the town of Om Hajer; massacres also took place in predominately Christian areas as well.^[1] 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... ARKIKO or (colonial Italian?) ARCHIGO, in modern usage rather spelled HIRGIGO, HARGIGO or HARKIKO, is an island in the Red Sea and part of the Northern Red Sea Zone region of modern Eritrea. ...

By 1977, the EPLF was poised to drive the Ethiopians out of Eritrea, something which as part of the Cold War the Soviet Union found unacceptable. So in that year, a massive airlift of Soviet arms to Ethiopia enabled the Ethiopian Army to regain the initiative and forced the EPLF to retreat to the bush. Between 1978 and 1986, the Derg launched eight major offensives against the independence movements, all failed. In 1988, the EPLF captured Afabet, headquarters of the Ethiopian Army in northeastern Eritrea, prompting the Ethiopian Army to withdraw from its garrisons in Eritrea's western lowlands. EPLF fighters then moved into position around Keren, Eritrea's second-largest city. Meanwhile, other dissident movements were making headway throughout Ethiopia. For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... The Cold War (Russian: Холодная Война Holodnaya Voina) was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between a worldwide military alliance of capitalist states led by the United States and a rival alliance of communist states led by the Soviet Union. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Afabet is a town in northern Eritrea. ... Keren is the third largest city in Eritrea, lying north west of Asmara, with a population of around 75,000 people. ...

Recognition

At the end of the 1980s, the Soviet Union informed Mengistu that it would not be renewing its defense and cooperation agreement. With the withdrawal of Soviet support and supplies, the Ethiopian Army's morale plummeted, and the EPLF, along with other Ethiopian rebel forces, began to advance on Ethiopian positions. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

After the end of the Cold War, symbolised by the fall of the Berlin Wall, the United States played a facilitative role in the peace talks in Washington during the months leading up to the May 1991 fall of the Mengistu regime. In mid-May, Mengistu resigned as head of the Ethiopian Government and went into exile in Zimbabwe, leaving a caretaker government in Addis Ababa. Having defeated the Ethiopian forces in Eritrea, EPLF troops took control of their homeland. Later that month, the United States chaired talks in London to formalize the end of the war. These talks were attended by the four major combatant groups, including the EPLF. East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, 20 November 1961. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of Ethiopia highlighting Addis Ababa (in red). ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ...

A high-level U.S. delegation also was present in Addis Ababa for the July 1-5, 1991 conference that established a transitional government in Ethiopia. The EPLF attended the July conference as an observer and held talks with the new transitional government regarding Eritrea's relationship to Ethiopia. The outcome of those talks was an agreement in which the Ethiopians recognized the right of the Eritreans to hold a referendum on independence. The referendum helped in April 1993 when the Eritrean people voted almost unanimously in favour of independence and this was verified by the UN observer mission UNOVER. On May 28, 1993, the United Nations formally admitted Eritrea to its membership.^[3] 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... The United Nations Observer Mission to Verify the Referendum in Eritrea (UNOVER) was established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 47/114 of 1992-12-16 and lasted until 1993-04-25. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

References

1. ^ ^a b Killion, Tom (1998). Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. ISBN 0810834375.
2. ^ Discourses on Liberation and Democracy - Eritrean Self-Views. Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
3. ^ Eritrea. Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
4. ^ Referendum Results. Retrieved on 2006-09-15.

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ...

See also

• List of massacres committed during the Eritrean War of Independence

Further reading

• Country profile: Eritrea BBC 4 November 2005
• Ethiopia Eritrea Independence War 1961-1993
• Eritrean War for Independence