1970s At the start of the 1970s numerous parallel and interlocking trends across the empire were converging against the old
feudal 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 educated
middle class of society were angered by poor governance and stunted advancement. 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 the
Amhara ethnic group. Similar to the period of the Ethiopian Empire under
Menelik II and
Haile Selassie, over 80% of
generals and over 65% of
colonels in the armed forces were Amharas. While the Amhara constituted the majority of the
officer corps, the army was still ethnically heterogeneous.
Ethiopian Red Terror The Derg did not fully establish their control over the country, and the subsequent
power vacuum led to open challenges from numerous civilian
opposition groups. The Ethiopian government had been fighting
Eritrean
separatists in the
Eritrean War of Independence since 1961, and now faced other rebel groups ranging from the conservative and pro-monarchy
Ethiopian Democratic Union (EDU), to the rival Marxist–Leninist
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP), and the ethnic
Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). In 1976, the Derg instigated the
Qey Shibir (Ethiopian Red Terror), a campaign of violent
political repression primarily targeting the EPRP and later the
All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement (MEISON), in an attempt to consolidate their power. The Qey Shibir was escalated on 3 February 1977 following the appointment of
Mengistu Haile Mariam as Chairman of the Derg, who took a hardline stance against opponents. The
urban guerrilla warfare saw brutal tactics used on all sides, including summary
executions,
assassinations,
torture and imprisonment without trial. 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 and
collateral damage shocking many Ethiopians into supporting rebel groups. There are currently many civilians who are still missing who are thought to have been systematically killed by the Derg but are yet unaccounted for.
Eritrean insurgency Eritrea had been annexed by the
Ethiopian Empire in the early 1960s. In 1961, the
Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) began armed resistance to Ethiopian rule. When the
Derg 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 from
Asmara 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. A massive military air and sea lift from the
Soviet Union transferred around two billion dollars' worth of military equipment while 1,700 Soviet advisors and 17,000 Cuban troops were deployed against the
Somali National Army and WSLF. 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 the
Siege of Barentu and the
First Battle of Massawa. The Eritreans would not regain the initiative until 1984. During the fall of 1980, towns and villages in
Tigray were bombarded with
napalm and
cluster bombs by the regime. Massive military infantry sweeps across the countryside resulted in high civilian fatalities. The
Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) dominated most the region, with the Ethiopian army restricted to major towns and highways. In 1981 there were an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 Ethiopian army troops in
Eritrea. 70,000 troops were also stationed in the Ogaden, supported by 10,000
Cuban 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. The Derg in its attempt to introduce full-fledged socialist ideals, fulfilled its main slogan of "
Land to the Tiller", by
redistributing land in Ethiopia that once belonged to
landlords to the
peasants 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 and
Tigray, resulted in a drastic decline in general productivity of food and
cash crops. Although Ethiopia is often prone to chronic
droughts, no one was prepared for the scale of drought and the
1983–1985 famine that struck the country in the mid-1980s, in which 400,000–590,000 people are estimated to 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 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 the
Eritrean 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, the
United 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.
1990s On 28 May 1991, Mengistu's government was
overthrown by its own officials and a coalition of rebel forces, the
Ethiopian 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 the
United States, he fled to asylum in
Zimbabwe, where he still resides. 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 of
genocide. Thirty-four people were in court, 14 others died during the lengthy process and 25, including Mengistu, were
tried in absentia. 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. ==Peasant revolution in Ethiopia==