Ethiopia Military

The Battle of Adwa, Adwa also spelled ADOWA, Italian ADUA (March 1, 1896), military clash at Adwa, in north-central Ethiopia, between the Ethiopian army of King Menilek II and Italian forces.

The decisive Ethiopian victory checked Italy’s attempt to build an empire in Africa comparable to that of the French or the British.

The death (in 1889) of the Ethiopian emperor Yohannes IV was followed by great disorder, during which the Italians helped Menilek of Shewa (Shoa) win the throne.

In addition, the Treaty of Wichale (Ucciali), which Italy had signed with Menilek in 1889, was interpreted by the Italian premier Francesco Crispi as implying the declaration of an Italian protectorate over Ethiopia.

Accordingly, the Italian possessions in Africa were constituted (January 1890) as Colonia Eritrea.

Menilek first rejected in September 1890 the ambiguous Article XVII of the treaty and then, in September 1893, rejected the treaty altogether, afterward preparing to fight the Italians’ attempt to impose their dominion militarily.

By late February 1896, supplies on both sides were running low. General Oreste Baratieri, commander of the Italian forces, knew the Ethiopian forces had been living off the land.

Besides, once the supplies of the local peasants were exhausted, Menlik’s army would begin to melt away, he thought.

Nevertheless, his government insisted that General Baratieri act, and he met with his brigadiers Matteo Albertone, Giuseppe Arimondi, Vittorio Dabormida, and Giuseppe Ellena on the evening of 29 February.

His subordinates argued vigorously for an attack, with Dabormida exclaiming, “Italy would prefer the loss of two or three thousand men to a dishonorable retreat.”

Baratieri announced that the attack would start and accordingly, his troops began their march to their starting positions.

The Italian army comprised four brigades totalling 17,700 troops, with fifty-six artillery pieces.

One brigade under General Albertone was made up of Italian officered askari (native infantry) recruited from Eritrea.

The remaining three brigades were Italian units under Brigadiers Dabormida, Ellena and Arimondi.

From the Ethiopian side, the forces were divided among:
• Emperor Menelik
• Empress Taytu
• Ras Wale
• Ras Mengesha Atikem
• Ras Mengesha Yohannes
• Ras Alula Engida
• Ras Mikael of Wollo
• Ras Makonnen
• Fitawrari Gebeyyehu
• Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam

Besides, the armies were followed by traditional peasant followers who supplied the army, as had been done for centuries.

On the night of Feb 29 and the early morning of March 1, three Italian brigades advanced separately towards Adwa over narrow mountain tracks, while a fourth remained camped.

David Levering Lewis states that the Italian battle plan called for three columns to march in parallel formation to the crests of three mountains:

• Dabormida commanding on the right
• Albertone on the left
• Arimondi in the center with a reserve under Ellena following behind Arimondi

The supporting crossfire each column could give the others made the … soldiers as deadly as razored shears.

Albertone’s brigade was to set the pace for the others. He was to position himself on the summit known as Kidane Meret, which would give the Italians the high ground from which to meet the Ethiopians.

Nevertheless, the three leading Italian brigades had become separated during their overnight march and at dawn were spread across several miles of very difficult terrain.

Unknown to General Baratieri, Emperor Menelik knew his troops had exhausted the ability of the local peasants to support them and had planned to break camp the next day (2 March).

The Emperor had risen early to begin prayers for divine guidance when spies from Ras Alula, his chief military advisor, brought him news that the Italians were advancing.

The Emperor called the separate armies of his nobles and with the Empress Taytu beside him, ordered his forces forward.

• Negus Tekle Haymanot commanded the right wing
• Ras Alula the left
• Rasses Makonnen and Mengesha the center, with Ras Mikael at the head of the crack Oromo cavalry; the Emperor and his consort remained with the reserve.

The Ethiopian forces positioned themselves on the hills overlooking the Adowa valley, in perfect position to receive the Italians, who were exposed and vulnerable to crossfire.

Albertone’s askari brigade was the first to encounter the onrush of Ethiopians at 6:00, near Kidane Meret, where the Ethiopians had managed to set up their mountain artillery.

His forces held their position for two hours until Albertone’s capture, and under Ethiopian pressure the survivors sought refuge with Arimondi’s brigade.

Arimondi’s brigade beat back the Ethiopians who repeatedly charged the Italian position for three hours but didn’t last longer.

Two companies of Bersaglieri who arrived at the same moment could not help and were annihilated.

General Dabormida’s Italian brigade had moved to support Albertone but was unable to reach him in time.

Cut off from the remainder of the Italian army, Dabormida began a fighting retreat toward Italian positions.

Nevertheless, Dabormida inadvertently marched his command into a narrow valley where the Oromo cavalry slaughtered his brigade shouting Ebalgume! Ebalgume! (”Reap! Reap!”).

General Dabormida’s remains were never found, although his brother learned from an old woman living in the area that she had given water to a mortally wounded Italian officer, “a chief, a great man with spectacles and a watch, and golden stars”.

The remaining two brigades under Baratieri himself were outflanked and destroyed piecemeal on the slopes of Mount Belah. By noon, the survivors of the Italian army were in full retreat and the battle was over.

The Italians suffered about 7,000 killed and 1,500 wounded in the battle and subsequent retreat back into Eritrea, with 3,000 taken prisoner, while Ethiopian losses have been estimated around 4,000-5,000, but with 8,000 wounded.

In their flight to Eritrea, the Italians left behind all of their artillery and 11,000 rifles, as well as most of their transport.

As Paul B. Henze notes, “Baratieri’s army had been completely annihilated while Menelik’s was intact as a fighting force and gained thousands of rifles and a great deal of equipment from the fleeing Italians.”

The 3,000 Italian prisoners, who included General Albertone, appear to have been treated as well as could be expected under difficult circumstances, though about 200 died of their wounds in captivity.

Nevertheless 800 captured askaris, regarded as traitors by the Ethiopians, had their right hands and left feet amputated.

Baratieri was relieved of his command and later charged with preparing an “inexcusable” plan of attack and for abandoning his troops in the field.

The Crispi government fell, and was replaced by a new administration with a policy of avoiding further colonial adventures.

The decisive victory of Ethiopia over Italian aggressors resulted in the the Treaty of Addis Ababa, signed in October 1896, abrogated the Treaty of Wichale and reestablished peace, and Italy recognized the independence of Ethiopia.

The Italian claim to a protectorate over all Ethiopia was thereafter abandoned; and the Italian colony of Eritrea, finally delimited by a treaty of peace (September 1900), was reduced to a territory of about 200,000 square km (80,000 square miles).

Various treaties concluded with Italy, France, and Great Britain in the years up to 1908 fixed the borders of Ethiopia with the neighbouring territories ruled by the European powers.

Keywords: Adwa, ADOWA, ADUA, King Menilek II, Italian forces, Treaty of Wichale, Ucciali, Emperor Yohannes IV, Francesco Crispi, General Oreste Baratieri, Matteo Albertone, Giuseppe Arimondi, Vittorio Dabormida, Giuseppe Ellena, Emperor Menelik, Empress Taytu, Ras Wale, Ras Mengesha Atikem, Ras Mengesha Yohannes, Ras Alula Engida, Ras Mikael of Wollo, Ras Makonnen, Fitawrari Gebeyyehu, Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, Somali National Army, Harerge, Bale, Sidamo, Jijiga, Siad Barre, Ogaden War,

The Eritrean-Ethiopian War was a border conflict that took place from May 1998 to June 2000. On May 8, a platoon of Eritreans soldier deployed into Badme region.

Fighting escalated to artillery and tank fire leading to four weeks of intense fighting. Ground troops fought on three fronts.

Eritrea claims Ethiopia launched air strikes against Eritrea’s capital Asmara while Ethiopia accused Eritrea of striking first.

The fighting led to huge internal displacement in both countries as civilians fled the war zone. The conflict ended in stalemate and deployment of UNMEE

Following independence, the two neighbours disagreed over currency and trade issues, and both laid claim to several border regions including Badme, Tsorona-Zalambessa, and Bure.

Nevertheless, since the two governments were close allies they agreed to set up a commission to look into their common border and disputed places. Since early 1991 they had agreed to set up a commission to look into each others’ claims.

Of particular issue was the border through the Badme Plain. As a result of the Treaty of 1902 the Badme Plain is bisected by the border which runs in a straight line between the Gash and Setit (Tekezé) Rivers.

The development of the war: On 6 May 1998, a few Eritrean soldiers entered the Badme region, a borderline zone, along the border of Eritrea and Ethiopia’s northern Tigray Region, resulting in a fire fight between the Eritrean soldiers and the Tigrayan militia and security police they encountered.

The evidence illustrated that, at about 5:30 a.m. on May 12, 1998, Eritrean armed forces, consisted of at least two brigades of regular soldiers, supported by tanks and artillery, attacked the town of Badme and other border areas in Ethiopia’s Tahtay Adiabo Wereda, as well as at least two places in its neighboring Laelay Adiabo Wereda.

On that day and in the days instantly following, Eritrean armed forces then pushed across the flat Badme plain to higher ground in the east.

Although the evidence regarding the nature of Ethiopian armed forces in the area conflicted, the weight of the evidence indicated that the Ethiopian defenders were composed merely of militia and some police, who were swiftly forced to move back by the invading Eritrean forces.

Given the absence of an armed attack against Eritrea, the attack that began on May 12 cannot be justified as lawful self-defense under the UN Charter.

The areas initially invaded by Eritrean forces on that day were all either within undisputed Ethiopian territory or within territory that was quietly administered by Ethiopia and that later would be on the Ethiopian side of the line to which Ethiopian armed forces were compelled to withdraw in 2000 under the Cease-Fire Agreement of June 18, 2000.

On May 13, 1998 Ethiopia, in what Eritrean radio described as a “total war” policy, mobilized its forces for a full assault against Eritrea.

The Claims Commission established that this was in essence an pronouncement of the existence of a state of war between belligerents not a declaration of war and that Ethiopia also notified the United Nations Security Council, as required under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

The fighting rapidly escalated to exchanges of artillery and tank fire leading to four weeks of intense fighting.

Ground troops fought on three fronts. On 5 June 1998, the Ethiopians launched air attacks on the airport in Asmara and the Eritreans retaliate by attacking the Ethiopian town of Mekele. These raids caused civilian casualties and deaths on both sides of the border.

There was then a quiet period as both sides mobilized huge forces along their common border and dug extensive trenches.

Both countries used up several hundred million dollars on new military equipment. This was despite the peace mediation efforts by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the US/Rwanda peace plan that was in the works.

The US/Rwanda was a four point peace plan that called for withdrawal of both forces to pre-June 1998 positions.

Eritrea rejected and instead demanded for demilitarization of all disputed areas along the common border overseen by a neutral monitoring force and direct talks.

With Eritrea’s refusal to accept the US/Rwanda peace plan, on 22 February 1999, Ethiopia launched a huge military offensive to bring back Badme.

Tension had been elevated since February 6, 1999, When Ethiopia claimed that Eritrea had violated the moratorium on air raids by bombing Adigrat, a claim it later withdrew.

Following the first five days of military set back at Badme, by which time Ethiopia broken through Eritrea’s fortified front and was 10 kilometers (six miles) deep into Eritrean territory, Eritrea accepted the OAU peace plan on 27 February 1999.

Ethiopia did not at once stop its advance because it demanded that peace talks be contingent on an Eritrean withdrawal from territory occupied since the first outbreak of fighting.

Ethiopia commenced an offensive that broke through the Eritrean lines between Shambuko and Mendefera, crossed the Mareb River, and cut the road between Barentu and Mendefera, the main supply line for Eritrean troops on the western front of the fighting.

By May 2000, Ethiopia occupied about a quarter of Eritrea’s territory, displacing 650,000 people and wiping out key components of Eritrea’s infrastructure.

The Eritreans withdrawn from the disputed border town of Zalambessa and other disputed areas on the central front saying it was a ‘tactical retreat’ to take away one of Ethiopia’s last remaining excuses for continuing the war.

Having recaptured the most of the contested territories — and heard that Eritrean government in accordance with a request from the Organisation of African Unity would withdraw from any other territories it occupied at the start of fighting — on 25 May 2000, Ethiopia affirmed the war was over.

Results of the war: Eritrea claimed that 19,000 Eritrean soldiers were killed during the clash, while the number of Ethiopian soldiers dead is most likely around 50,000 as the total war casualties from both countries is reported worldwide as being around 70,000.

All these figures have been contested and other news reports simply state that “tens of thousands” or “as many as 100,000″ were killed in the war.

The fighting led to massive internal displacement in both countries as civilians fled the war zone.

Ethiopia expelled 77,000 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin it believed to be security risk, hence compounding Eritrea’s refugee problem.

Many of the 77,000 Eritrean and Ethiopians of Eritrean origins were considered well off by the standard of Ethiopian standard living and deporteeing them all after confiscating their belonging was a cruel act of human rights violations.

The economies of these countries were already weak as a result of decades of cold war politics, civil war and drought.

The war intensified these problems, resulting in food shortages. Before the war, much of Eritrea’s trade was with Ethiopia, and much of Ethiopia’s foreign trade relied on Eritrean roads and ports.

Keywords: Eritrea, Ethiopia, UNMEE, Badme region, Tsorona, Zalambessa, Bure, Gash, Setit, Tigrayan militia, Tahtay Adiabo Wereda, Laelay Adiabo Wereda, Mekele, OAU, Adigrat, Shambuko, Mendefera, Mareb River, Barentu,

On October 4, 1935 Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia. Italian forces were able to defeat the Ethiopian forces in 8 months with superior manpower and advanced weaponry.

In violation of International agreements, the Italians used poisonous gas in a number of battles.

Second Italo-Abyssinian War and the Mukden Incident is often seen as a precursor to World War II, and a demonstration of the ineffectiveness of the League.

After years of occupation, Emperor Haile Sellasie with the help of the British, led a large Ethiopian front to defeat the Italian army in 1941.

During World War II Ethiopia was under Italian occupation. The liberation of started in early 1941 when British forces joined the large armed resistance called “Arbengoch.” By the end of May, the allied forced were able to gain decisive victory against the Italian Army.

Korean War
Ethiopia sent 1,271 - 3,518 troops as part of the United Nation Forces to aid South Korea.

 The troops were known as the Kagnew Battalion under the command of General Mulugueta Bulli.

It was attached to the American 7th Infantry Division, and fought in a number of engagements including the Battle of Pork Chop Hill. 121 were killed and 536 wounded during the conflict in Korea.

Keywords: Italo-Abyssinian War, Korean War, Emperor Haile Sellasie, Mukden Incident, Arbengoch, South Korea

The modern ENDF has a wide mix of equipment. It does not produce its own weapons, so all arms must be imported.

It has used its position to act as a reseller of arms to other African nations, such as Burundi and Somalia.

Many of its major weapons systems stem from the Communist era and are of Soviet and Eastern bloc design.

The United States was Ethiopia’s major arms supplier from the end of World War 2 until 1977, when Ethiopia began receiving massive arms shipments from the Soviet Union.

These shipments, including armored patrol boats, transport and jet fighter aircraft, helicopters, tanks, trucks, missiles, artillery, and small arms have incurred an unserviced Ethiopian debt to the former Soviet Union estimated at more than $3.5 billion.

Since 1991, there remains a continuing influx of arms from former Eastern bloc countries (Russia, Czech Republic, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Hungary), yet also increasing use of Western equipment (US, Germany, UK, and France), and purchases from Israel and China.

Ground Equipment
• Tanks: 170 T-54/55, 50 T-62, 50 T-72.[21]
• IFV/APCs: 25 BMP-1, 110 M113, 10 BTR-152, 14 BTR-60.
• Reconnaissance vehicles: 250 BRDM-2.
• Artillery: 5 2S1(M1974), 17 M109.

Aircraft
• Helicopters: 8 Mi-6 (Hook), 14 Mi-14 (Haze), 14 Mi-17 (Hip), 15 Mi-24 (Hind), 3 SA 316 Alouette III, 4 SA 330 Puma.
• Fighter aircraft: 21 MiG-21 (Fishbed), 12 Su-27 (Flanker)[21].
• Ground attack Aircraft: 32 MiG-23BN (Flogger)[21], 4 Su-25 (Frogfoot).
• Cargo aircraft:An-2 kukuruznik (Colt), An-12 (Cub), An-26 (Curl), An-32 (Cline), 3 C-130 Hercules.
• Trainer aircraft: 5 SF.260TP, 14 L-39 Albatros.

Weapons
• Assault Rifles: AK-47, Heckler & Koch G3 .
• Machine Guns: PKM, DSHK .
• Anti-tank missiles: 22 M220 BGM-71 TOW.
• Air-to-air missiles:10 R-73 (AA-11 Archer), R-27 (AA-10 Alamo)

Keywords: Ground equipment, aircraft, weapons, Assault Rifles, Helicopters, Tanks, IFV/APCs, Reconnaissance vehicles, Artillery, Fighter aircraft, Ground attack Aircraft, Cargo aircraft, Trainer aircraft, Machine Guns, Anti-tank missiles, Air-to-air missiles

The Ethiopian Civil War (1974-1991) began on September 12, 1974 when Derg staged a coup d’état against Emperor Haile Selassie, and lasted until the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of rebel groups, overthrew the government in 1991.

The revolutionaries put an end to the monarchy in March of 1975 and Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen settled permanently in London, United Kingdom where several other members of the Imperial family were already based.

The other members of the Imperial family who were still in Ethiopia at the time of the revolution were imprisoned.

This included Amha Selassie’s father the Emperor, his daughter by his first marriage, Princess Ijigayehu, his sister Princess Tenagnework and many of his nephews, nieces, relatives and in-laws.

In 1975, first his daughter Princess Ijigayehu, and then his father Emperor Haile Selassie died in detention. Members of the Imperial family would remain imprisoned until 1988 (for the women) and 1989 (for the men).

The Derg got rid of politics opponents between 1975 and 1977 as a response to the declaration and instigation of an Ethiopian White terror against the Derg by various opposition groups.

Brutal tactics were used by both sides, including executions, assassinations, torture and the imprisonment of tens of thousands without trial, most of whom were innocent.

The Ethiopian Red/White terror was the “urban guerrilla” chapter of the brutal war the government fought with guerrillas fighting for Eritrean independence for its entire period in power, as well as with Marxist Tigrean rebels, and with other rebel groups ranging from the conservative and pro-monarchy Ethiopian Democratic Union (EDU) to the far leftist Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP).

In the mean time, Derg faced an invasion from Somalia in 1977, which sought to annex the eastern parts of Ethiopia, which were predominantly inhabited by Somalis.

The Ethiopian army was able to overcome the Somali army, supported by the Western Somali Liberation Front, only with massive military assistance from the Soviet Union and Cuba.

Ethiopia under the Derg became the Socialist bloc’s closest ally in Africa, and became one of the best-armed nations of the region as a result of massive military aid chiefly from the Soviet Union, GDR, Cuba and North Korea.

Most industries and private urban real-estate holdings were nationalized by the Derg in 1975.

The Derg satisfied its main slogan of “Land to the Tiller” by redistributing land once belonging to landlords to the peasant tilling the land.

The Derg’s violent rule was coupled with the draining effects of constant warfare with the separatist guerilla movements in Eritrea and Tigray resulting in a drastic fall in general productivity of food and cash crops.

Although Ethiopia is prone to chronic droughts, no one was prepared for the scale of drought and famine that struck the country in the mid-1980s, in which up to one million may have died.

Hundreds of thousands fled economic misery, conscription, and political repression, and went to live in neighboring countries and all over the Western world, creating an Ethiopian diaspora for the first time.

Keywords: Prince Asfaw Wossen, Ethiopian Civil War, Marxist Derg, Emperor Haile Selassie, Princess Ijigayehu, White terror,

After Communist North Korean forces invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, the war raged up and down the peninsula several times as the United States, the United Nations (U.N.) and finally Communist China sent ground forces there.

It was during this time that Ethiopia sent 1,271 - 3,518 troops as part of the United Nation Forces to aid South Korea. The troops were known as the Kagnew Battalion under the command of General Mulugueta Bulli.

Ethiopia furnished three 1,200-man battalions to the UN Command, beginning in June 1951 but only one battalion at a time. The first of these battalions — known as Kagnew (Conquerors) Battalions — arrived in May 1951 and was assigned to the U.S. 7th Infantry Division.

• 1st Kagnew Battalion Jun 51 — Apr 52
• 2nd Kagnew Battalion Apr 52 — Apr 53
• 3rd Kagnew Battalion Apr 53 — Apr 54

The Ethiopian army was attached to the American 7th Infantry Division, and fought in a number of engagements including the Battle of Pork Chop Hill. 121 were killed and 536 wounded during the conflict in Korea.

Keywords: United Nation Forces, South Korea, Kagnew Battalion, General Mulugueta Bulli,

During the Communist-run governments of the Provisional Military Administrative Council (also known as the Derg, 1974–1977) and the dictatorial Mengistu (1977–1991), the Ethiopian navy grew under the influence of the Soviet Union.

Training: Officer training - The 1984 class comprised 48 ensigns; typical of the size of classes in subsequent years. After the rise of the Communist government in Ethiopia, select members of the navy attended the Soviet Union’s naval academy in Leningrad.
Enlisted training - Seamen, technicians, and marines enlisted men were trained at Mitsiwa; their term of service was for seven years.

Forces: By early 1991, the Ethiopian navy was a 3,500-strong force, with the following vessels:

• two frigates
• eight missile craft
• six torpedo craft
• six patrol boats
• two amphibious craft
• two support/training craft

Final disposition: The Ethiopian navy was finally dissolved after the independence of Eritrea in 1991. At that time, many ships were sold for scrap in Djibouti, such as the four Peyta-class gas turbine-powered frigates Ethiopia had acquired from the Soviet Union.

The navy also had four Osa-class missile boats, one of which is still in use by Eritrea. Though Eritrea wished to purchase up to 16 of the former Ethiopian ships, plans were dropped in September 1996 to avoid exacerbating an international confrontation with Yemen.

Keywords: Derg, Mengistu, Yemen, Ethiopia, Eritrea, 

After the end of World War II, Ethiopia was given control over Eritrea and its ports, allowing the creation an Ethiopian Navy.

In 1958, the Ethiopian Navy became a separate branch of the armed forces. Haile Selassie I appointed Norwegian naval officers to help organize a coastal navy.

Also, a number of retired British naval officers acted as advisors and trainers until the advent of the Derg in 1974.

The Emperor also founded the Ethiopian Naval College, located in Asmera (now part of Eritrea).

The education comprised a 52-month program of study. Some members of the navy also went on to study at Leghorn, Italy.

Celebrations for Ethiopian Navy Day were held in Massawa, such as the occasion in 1969 when the USS Forrest Royal (DD872) and ships from other nations observed the 1st graduation of new midshipmen; the Forrest Royal also hosted a celebration aboard ship which the Emperor attended. The Emperor was presented with a painting of the Forrest Royal at the celebration.

The former USS Orca, a World War II-era Barnegat-class small seaplane tender launched in 1942 (similar to the USS Suisun), was transferred to Ethiopia in January 1962.

It was re-christened as the Ethiopia (A 01), and served as a training vessel until the loss of the Red Sea coast to Eritrea in 1991.

Though unserviceable, it escaped to Yemen, where it is presumed to have been sold for scrap.

Keywords: World War II, Ethiopian Navy, Haile Selassie I,

Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam (born 1937) was the most famous officer of the Derg, the military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the president of the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

He oversaw the Ethiopian Red Terror of 1977-1978, a repression campaign against the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party and other anti-Derg factions.

After the downfall of Haile Selassie, Ethiopia was controlled by Communist regimes which shifted the equipment, organization and doctrines away from Western European and American influences towards those of the Soviet Union and other Communist countries, especially Cuba.

During this period, Ethiopian forces were often locked in counter-insurgency campaigns against various guerrilla groups.

They honed both conventional and guerrilla tactics during campaigns in Eritrea, and the Ethiopian Civil War that toppled Ethiopian former military dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991 and also by repelling an invasion launched by Somalia in the 1977–1978 Ogaden War.

The Ethiopian army grew considerably during this time under the regimes of the Derg and the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia under the dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam, especially during the latter regime. Estimated forces under arms increased dramatically.

Cuba provided a significant influx of military advisors and troops over this period, with the largest escalation during the Ogaden War with Somalia, supported by a Soviet airlift.

Mengistu’s “Dergue” regime was responsible for human rights violations on a massive scale.

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians were tortured, murdered or “disappeared.” Tens of thousands of people were also killed as a result of humanitarian law violations committed during Ethiopia’s many internal armed conflicts.

Many others, perhaps more than 100,000, died as a result of forced relocations ordered by the Mengistu regime.

Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe in 1991 after a violent uprising against his government, and remains there despite an Ethiopian court verdict finding him guilty in absentia of genocide.

Keywords: Derg, Haile Selassie, Red Terror, Ethiopia, Ogaden War,