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,
Will the Ethiopian monarchy be restored to power once more?
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could such a type of goverment exsist in such a poor contery
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I appreciated his patriotism and his personal decisionns besides his foolish thinkings.
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hello,
I want to get an information about the coup’detat of mengistu over hailesilase.
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i missed u our father
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Dear sir
sir i request this information please secrate, you office lavel watching, this guy buy now one usd 12.50 bir and sold 14 bir per usd dolar
sir you chek this all company account and last years havemuch income tax and vat diposit this guy not paid income tax and vat after show loss. and all money save this cheating with ethio goverment you asking havemany company there and asking you import your shop items but not give bill who give this vat and income tax, asking havemany company with you business all is cliear,
this very secret information important FINANCIAL AND REVENUE CRIME WITH ETHIOPIA COUNTRY,
sir one indian nationalty man BHARAT SHAH daily milion dolar and other foreign currency exchange and transfer out of country unofficialy,
sir this man somany company format in ethiopia and import this man all import under invoice and revenue loss ethiopian goverment, this man last maybe 40 years in ethiopia,
sir i give you parsonal leval this information but you official lavel invastigation, and recovery goverment money i think minimum 2 milion dolar recovery,
becouset\ this man long time this business, allredy bilions dolar this man tranfer and revenue loss ethio goverment, now u send parsonal leval any froeigner exchange money then u first arrested after asking all question,
bharat shah one indian food items shop in addis near mariden hotel bole road,
i also business ethio long time, this information truely,
i proud ethiopia
prashant
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I proud of him….or all Ethiopian Military members, this guys are smart and best army’s in the Ethiopian history, the time will never come back. We Ethiopians are Proud of our fathers.
Ethiopia Tekdem!
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you guys are crazy. he killed half your family. fucking nazis….>.>
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