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| Ethiopian Civil War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theEritrean War of Independence, theEthiopian–Somali conflict, theOromo conflict, theCold War, and theRevolutions of 1989 | |||||||||
     Clockwise from top: TPLF soldiers gather inAddis Ababa, 1991;T-62 tank destroyed shortly after thefall of the Derg;EPLF rebels at theFirst Battle of Massawa;EPLF infantry walks by a destroy Ethiopian column after theBattle of Afabet; The wing of a SomaliMiG-21 shot down by theEthiopian Air Force, 1977 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 TPLF EPLF EPDM EPRP.png) MEISON EDU OLF WSLF ONLF[1] ALF IFLO |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Meles ZenawiIsaias AfwerkiTamrat LayneElemo Qiltu † |  Mengistu Haile MariamTesfaye Gebre KidanFikre Selassie Wogderess | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 141,000 (1991) 110,000 (1990)[6] 13,000 (1991)[7] | 230,000 (1991) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Casualties and impact of the Ethiopian Civil War | |||||||||
| ≈400,000–579,000 killed[8][9][10] ~1,200,000deaths from famine[8][9][11] | |||||||||
Part ofa series on the | ||||||||||
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| History ofEritrea | ||||||||||
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 Eritrea portal | ||||||||||
TheEthiopian Civil War was acivil war inEthiopia and present-dayEritrea, fought between the Ethiopianmilitary junta known as theDerg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991.
TheDerg overthrew theEthiopian Empire and EmperorHaile Selassie in acoup d'état on 12 September 1974, establishing Ethiopia as aMarxist–Leninist state under a military junta andprovisional government. Various nationalist opposition groups of ideological affiliations ranging fromCommunist to anti-Communist, often drawn from a specific ethnic background, carried out armed resistance to theSoviet-backed Derg.
Groups like theEritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF) and theWestern Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) had already been fighting against theEthiopian Empire in the northernEritrean War of Independence and southernOgaden insurgency. The Derg used large scalecounterinsurgency military campaigns and theQey Shibir (Red Terror) to repress the rebels. Other rebel fronts increasingly such as theTigrayan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) andOromo Liberation Front (OLF) also increasingly grew in strength over the 1970s. In 1977 Somalia invaded to back the WSLF in the Ogaden, delivering a major blow to the Derg and triggering a large scaleSoviet andCuban military intervention that drove back Somali forces. While this diversion briefly enabled Eritrean rebels to advance, a Soviet‑armed Dergcounter‑offensive soon reversed their gains as well.
By the mid-1980s, various issues such as the1983–1985 famine, economic decline, and other after-effects of Derg policies ravaged Ethiopia, increasing popular support for the rebels. In 1984, the Eritrean rebels regained the initiative for the first time since the counter-offensive.[12] The Derg dissolved its military junta in 1987, becoming civilianized and establishing thePeople's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) under theWorkers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE) in an attempt to maintain its rule.[13] The Soviet Union began ending its support for the Derg in the late-1980s and the government was overwhelmed by the increasingly victorious rebel groups.
The Ethiopian Civil War ended on 28 May 1991 when theEthiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of left-wing ethnic rebel groups,entered the capitalAddis Ababa and PresidentMengistu Haile Mariam fled the country. The Derg regime was dissolved and replaced with theTPLF-ledTransitional Government of Ethiopia.[14]
The Ethiopian Civil War left at least 1.4 million people dead, with 1 million of the deaths being related tofamine and the remainder fromcombat and other violence.[13]
In the 1950s, discontent grew within theEthiopian Empire toward EmperorHaile Selassie’s imperial regime. Many members of thearistocracy became frustrated with the empire's stagnation and limitations. The government's repression and prohibition of autonomous organizations stifled any reformist movements within theruling class. Although many elites recognized the need for serious reform, Emperor Selassie refused to tolerate any form of protest, especially organized efforts. Even influential Ethiopian families feared the regime's extensive network of spies and the emperor’s potential reaction to dissent, creating an atmosphere of fear among theruling class.[15]
By the 1960s, the Ethiopian Empire had become politically unstable. The administration was becoming unpopular across all levels of society due to stagnating quality of life, slow economic development, and widespread human rights abuses. During this period, aradicalized student movement emerged, calling forland reform anddemocratization.[16] In December 1960,the Imperial Guard attempted a military coup, which was violently suppressed by the imperial army and air force.[15] While the use of the military saved Haile Selassie's regime, it made the armed forces a crucial pillar of his rule. The emperor's increasing dependence on their loyalty left the regime's stability precarious, as any signs of discontent within the military could threaten his survival. Throughout the following decade, Selassie sought to placate the military, further heightening their awareness of their growing power and political significance.[17] Since the failed 1960 coup attempt, no further coups had been attempted, largely due to deep divisions within the armed forces.[18]
As the imperial regime declined, the army became increasingly politicized due to Emperor Selassie's reliance on oppressive governance. Recruitment from educated Ethiopians throughout the 1960s and early 1970s heightened the political awareness of the armed forces. This awareness grew as the army was frequently used to suppress student protests, peasant uprisings, and regional revolts inOgaden,Bale, andEritrea.[18]
At the start of the 1970s numerous parallel and interlocking trends across the empire were converging against the oldfeudal order, though had yet to coalesce into a well organized oppositional force.Working class Ethiopians had become increasingly dissatisfied with low wages and inflation, while the educatedmiddle class of society were angered by poor governance and stunted advancement.[16]
InEritrea province, armed resistance against imperial rule was rapidly escalating, but the independence movements were divided into the rivalingEritrean Liberation Front (ELF) andEritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF). In theOgaden andBale region, attacks by Somaliinsurgents were beginning to escalate. Elsewhere within the empire, spontaneous peasant uprising began proliferating and students were organized into underground organizations in urban areas across Ethiopia.[16]
TheEthiopian imperial army itself began protesting grievances to the government as the morale of its forces began to break down in Eritrea and the Ogaden.[16] By the early 1970s, with multiplying regional revolts and an economic downturn, many army units became rebellious as their living conditions worsened. By 1973, many observers recognized that the army held the true power behind the throne, and it was widely expected that the military would take control upon the emperor's death. The military mutinies that triggered the 1974Ethiopian Revolution began with demands for better working conditions and wages for troops stationed in remote regions like Ogaden, Negele, and western Eritrea.[18]
On 12 September 1974, Haile Selassie and his government wereoverthrown by theDerg, a non-ideological committee of low-ranking officers and enlisted men in theEthiopian Army who became the rulingmilitary junta. On 21 March 1975, the Derg abolished the monarchy and adoptedMarxism–Leninism as their official ideology, establishing themselves as aprovisional government for the process of building a socialist state in Ethiopia. The Crown Prince went into exile inLondon, where several other members of theHouse of Solomon lived, while other members who were in Ethiopia at the time of the revolution were imprisoned. Haile Selassie, his daughter by his first marriagePrincess Ijigayehu, his sisterPrincess Tenagnework, and many of his nephews, nieces, close relatives, and in-laws were among those detained. On 27 August 1975, Haile Selassie died under mysterious circumstances in detention at theNational Palace inAddis Ababa.[19][20] That year, most industries and private urban real estate holdings were nationalized by the Derg regime. The assets of the former royal family were all seized and were nationalized in a program designed to implement the state ideology of socialism.
Under the Derg, the new Ethiopian military was dominated by theAmhara ethnic group. Similar to the period of the Ethiopian Empire underMenelik II andHaile Selassie, over 80% ofgenerals and over 65% ofcolonels in the armed forces were Amhara's.[21] While the Amhara constituted the majority of theofficer corps, the army was still ethnically heterogeneous.[22]
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The Derg did not fully establish their control over the country, and the subsequentpower vacuum led to open challenges from numerous civilianopposition groups. The Ethiopian government had been fightingEritreanseparatists in theEritrean War of Independence since 1961, and now faced other rebel groups ranging from the conservative and pro-monarchyEthiopian Democratic Union (EDU), to the rival Marxist–LeninistEthiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP), and the ethnicTigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). In 1976, the Derg instigated theQey Shibir (Ethiopian Red Terror), a campaign of violentpolitical repression primarily targeting the EPRP and later theAll-Ethiopia Socialist Movement (MEISON), in an attempt to consolidate their power.
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The Qey Shibir was escalated on 3 February 1977 following the appointment ofMengistu Haile Mariam as Chairman of the Derg, who took a hardline stance against opponents. Theurban guerrilla warfare saw brutal tactics used on all sides, including summaryexecutions,assassinations,torture and imprisonment without trial.[23] By August 1977, the EPRP and MEISON were devastated, with their leadership either dead or fleeing to the countryside to continue their activities in stronghold areas, but despite this, the Derg did not successfully consolidate their power as much as hoped. Ironically, the majority of the Qey Shibir's estimated 30,000 to 750,000 victims are believed to be innocents, with the violence andcollateral damage shocking many Ethiopians into supporting rebel groups. There are currently[when?] many civilians who are still missing who are thought to have been systematically killed by the Derg but are yet unaccounted for.[24]
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Eritrea had been annexed by theEthiopian Empire in the early 1960s. In 1961, theEritrean Liberation Front (ELF) began armed resistance to Ethiopian rule. When theDerg came to power, Eritreans were widely subjected to increasing repression and economic disruption as the government sought to crush the elusive insurgency in vain. Reports fromAsmara in 1974, the capital of the region, told of civilian massacres by army troops and rape at gunpoint. During January 1975 Eritrean resistance fighters began attacking the Ethiopian army in and around Asmara.[16]
The following year saw the Derg regime mobilize its first in a series of 'peasant marches'. The government made a call for 100,000 peasants to crush the Eritrean nationalists, though only 30,000 were organized for the first assault into Eritrea.[16]
The early 1970's saw the Somali liberation movement for theOgaden region continue to gain momentum off the foundations of the Nasrallah insurgency which hadfought a major revolt from 1963 to 1965 against EmperorHaile Selassie's empire.[25] The many veteran insurgents and youngintelligentsia from the Ogaden region withinSiad Barre's government lobbied for Somalia to support the resumption of the armed struggle during the 1970s.[26]
By June 1977, theWestern Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) had been successful in forcing the Ethiopian army out of much of the Ogaden and into the major urban strongholds ofJigjiga,Dire Dawa andHarar. President of SomaliaSiad Barre decided to intensify the war by involving the Somali army as he believed it would allow the WSLF to press home their growing victories and enable the complete secession of the Ogaden. On 13 July 1977, theOgaden War was triggered when theSomali Democratic Republic invaded the Ogaden region in order to assist the WSLF. By November and the onset of the rainy season, the WSLF was poised to capture the city ofHarar.[27]
A massive military air and sea lift from theSoviet Union transferred around two billion dollars' worth of military equipment while 1,700 Soviet advisors and 17,000 Cuban troops were deployed against theSomali National Army and WSLF.[16] In early 1978 the Ethiopian forces, spearheaded by Cuban troops in an operation planned by Soviet generals, managed to push back the SNA/WSLF forces.[27]
In 1977 the Eritrean insurgency had taken advantage of the Derg's preoccupation with war for theOgaden against theWestern Somali Liberation Front andSomali National Army. Immediately after theOgaden War ended–the Ethiopian army, withCuban support, reoriented to Eritrea and forced the ELF and EPLF out of many areas they had liberated in the prior months.[28] Using the considerable manpower and military hardware available from the Somali campaign, the Ethiopian Army regained the initiative. Notable military engagements occurred in this period such as theSiege of Barentu and theFirst Battle of Massawa.[29]
The Eritreans would not regain the initiative until 1984.[28]
By 1980, the original 120 ruling members of theDerg had been whittled down to only 38. All members but three were ethnicAmhara and were predominantly from settler colonialistneftenya origins. Many members of the ruling elite were deeply opposed to the idea of loosening control on the rebellioussouthern regions conquered under Menelik II.[16]
At the start of the decade the Ethiopian army had swelled to a force of 250,000 strong.[16] During the early 1980s the Ethiopian government rendered theSomali inhabitedOgaden region a vast military zone, engaging in indiscriminate aerial bombardments and forced resettlement programs.[30]
During the fall of 1980, towns and villages inTigray were bombarded withnapalm andcluster bombs by the regime. Massive military infantry sweeps across the countryside resulted in high civilian fatalities. TheTigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) dominated most the region, with the Ethiopian army restricted to major towns and highways.[31]
In 1981 there were an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 Ethiopian army troops inEritrea. 70,000 troops were also stationed in the Ogaden, supported by 10,000Cuban army troops who garrisoned the regions towns. In Tigray there were an estimated 40,000 and in the southern Oromo provinces 20,000 were deployed.[32]
The Derg in its attempt to introduce full-fledged socialist ideals, fulfilled its main slogan of "Land to the Tiller", byredistributing land in Ethiopia that once belonged tolandlords to thepeasants tilling the land. Although this was made to seem like a fair and just redistribution, the mismanagement, corruption, and general hostility to the Derg's violent and harsh rule coupled with the draining effects of constant warfare, separatist guerrilla movements in Eritrea andTigray, resulted in a drastic decline in general productivity of food andcash crops. Although Ethiopia is often prone to chronicdroughts, no one was prepared for the scale of drought and the1983–1985 famine that struck the country in the mid-1980s, in which 400,000–590,000 people are estimated to have died.[33] Hundreds of thousands fled economic misery,conscription and political repression, and went to live in neighboring countries and all over theWestern world, creating anEthiopian diaspora community for the first time in its history. Insurrections against the Derg's rule sprang up with ferocity, particularly in the northern regions of Tigray and Eritrea which sought independence and in some regions in the Ogaden. Hundreds of thousands were killed as a result of the Qey Shibir,forced deportations. The Derg continued its attempts to end rebellions with military force by initiating several campaigns against both internal rebels and theEritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), the most important ones being Operation Shiraro, Operation Lash, Operation Red Star, and Operation Adwa, which led to its decisive defeat in the Battle of Shire on 15–19 February 1989 which ultimately led to Eritrean independence. This marked a receding end in power to the Derg.
During the 1980s, theUnited States government was reported to have given $500,000 annually in aid from at least 1981 to 1985 to the Ethiopian People's Democratic Alliance, as part of U.S.Cold War strategy.[34]
On 28 May 1991, Mengistu's government wasoverthrown by its own officials and a coalition of rebel forces, theEthiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), after their bid for a push on the capital Addis Ababa was successful. There was some fear that Mengistu would attempt to fight to the bitter end for the capital, but after diplomatic intervention by theUnited States, he fled to asylum inZimbabwe, where he still resides.[35] The regime only survived another week after his ousting before the EPRDF poured into the capital and captured Addis Ababa.
The EPRDF immediately disbanded the Workers' Party of Ethiopia and shortly afterward arrested almost all of the most prominent Derg officials that were still in the country. In December 2006, 72 officials of the Derg were found guilty ofgenocide.[36] Thirty-four people were in court, 14 others died during the lengthy process and 25, including Mengistu, weretriedin absentia.[37] These events marked the end of socialist rule in Ethiopia. Ethiopia then embraced a federal democracy to represent the many ethnic groups living in the country.
There is not much in-depth information available about the revolution, but the bookPeasant Revolution in Ethiopia by John Young provides detailed information about the revolution, why it started, how the Derg affected the nation, and the role of the peasant population inTigray and Eritrea.[38][39]
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The Ethiopian Civil War left at least 1.4 million people dead, with 1 million related to famine and the remainder from violence and conflicts, which was one third of the population.[40][41] It also had impacts on land and agriculture: the former feudal system under which peasants would lose up to 75% of their production to landlords was reversed by the implementation of nationalized reforms.[42] Total forest cover in Wollo Province was approximately 2.2% of the total area in 1980, and in Tigray 0.5%, roughly 50% decline since 1960. Soil erosion could halt grain production by 120,000 tons per year in Wollo Province.[43]
During the first six years, food production also increased by 6%. Crop production declined by 12.2% per year from 1982 to 1984. With the 1983–1985 famine, ten million people were affected five times of the 1973 drought.[42]
...there were 60,000 to 70,000 government troops tied down in Eritrea, 40,000 based in Tigray, 70,000 in the Ogaden and 20,000 in the southern Oromo provinces, with over 10,000 Cuban troops garrisoning the main Ogaden towns.
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