Conflicts in the Horn of Africa
Encyclopedia
Colonial conflicts
- First Italo-Ethiopian War between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ethiopian EmpireEthiopian EmpireThe Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia, covered a geographical area that the present-day northern half of Ethiopia and Eritrea covers, and included in its peripheries Zeila, Djibouti, Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia...
, 1895-1896 - Dervish resistanceSomaliland CampaignThe Somaliland Campaign was a series of military engagements fought early in the 20th century in the Horn of Africa by British and Italian colonial forces against the Dervish State of the Somali religious and nationalist leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan...
against the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the Kingdom of Italy, the Ethiopian Empire, and other Somalis, 1899-1920 - Second Italo-Ethiopian War between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ethiopian Empire, 1935-1936
World War I
- East African Campaign (World War I)East African Campaign (World War I)The East African Campaign was a series of battles and guerrilla actions which started in German East Africa and ultimately affected portions of Mozambique, Northern Rhodesia, British East Africa, Uganda, and the Belgian Congo. The campaign was effectively ended in November 1917...
between the German EmpireGerman EmpireThe German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
and the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth of NationsCommonwealth of NationsThe Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, the Portuguese EmpirePortuguese EmpireThe Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
, and the Kingdom of Belgium, 1914-1918
World War II
- East African Campaign (World War II)East African Campaign (World War II)The East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....
between the Kingdom of Italy and the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Kingdom of Belgium, and the Ethiopian Empire, 1940-1941
Recent conflicts
- Eritrean War of IndependenceEritrean War of IndependenceThe Eritrean War of Independence was a conflict fought between the Ethiopian government and Eritrean separatists, both before and during the Ethiopian Civil War. The war started when Eritrea’s autonomy within Ethiopia, where troops were already stationed, was unilaterally revoked...
1961 - 1991, between Eritrean liberation fronts (primarily the EPLFEritrean People's Liberation FrontThe Eritrean People's Liberation Front was an armed organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1970 as an intellectual left-wing group that split from the Eritrean Liberation Front .-Background:...
and early on also the ELFEritrean Liberation FrontThe Eritrean Liberation Front was the main independence movement in Eritrea which sought Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia during the 1960s and 1970s. In the very late 1950s unorganized political movement seeking independence was secretly active as small cells...
) and the Ethiopian Empire (1961-1974) and Marxist DergDergThe Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
-ruled Ethiopia (1974-1991) - Shifta WarShifta WarThe Shifta War was a secessionist conflict in which ethnic Somalis in the Northern Frontier District of Kenya attempted to join with their fellow Somalis in a Greater Somalia...
1963-1967, separatist insurgency by ethnic Somalis in Kenya - Ethiopian Civil WarEthiopian Civil WarThe Ethiopian Civil War began on September 12, 1974 when the Marxist Derg staged a coup d'état against Emperor Haile Selassie, and lasted until the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front , a coalition of rebel groups, overthrew the government in 1991. The war overlapped other Cold War...
1974-1991, between the DergDergThe Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
(ruling government of Ethiopia) and various rebel groups, as well as amongst the rebel groups, including the Marxist Ethiopian EPRPEthiopian People's Revolutionary PartyFounded in April 1972, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party was a prominent Marxist-Leninist organization in Ethiopia during the 1970s. It is also known as "Ihapa" from the acronym in Amharic...
, MEISONAll-Ethiopia Socialist MovementThe All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement was a Marxist-Leninist organization that played an active role in Ethiopian politics during the 1970s. Both it and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party were enthusiastic supporters of the revolution that toppled Emperor Haile Selassie I...
, and TPLFTigrayan People's Liberation FrontThe Tigrayan People's Liberation Front , known more commonly and sometimes pejoratively in Ethiopia as Woyane or Weyane is a political party in Ethiopia...
, the Eritrean EPLF, ELF, the monarchist EDU (in the first stage of the war), and the Somali WSLFWestern Somali Liberation FrontThe Western Somali Liberation Front was a separatist rebel group fighting in eastern Ethiopia to create an independent state. It played a major role in the Ogaden War of 1977-78 assisting the invading Somali Army...
; included Red TerrorRed Terror (Ethiopia)The Ethiopian Red Terror, or Qey Shibir , was a violent political campaign in Ethiopia that most visibly took place once Communist Mengistu Haile Mariam achieved control of the Derg, the military junta, 3 February 1977... - Ogaden WarOgaden WarThe Ogaden War was a conventional conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia in 1977 and 1978 over the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. In a notable illustration of the nature of Cold War alliances, the Soviet Union switched from supplying aid to Somalia to supporting Ethiopia, which had previously been...
1977 - 1978, between Ethiopia and Somalia - 1982 Ethiopian-Somali Border War1982 Ethiopian-Somali Border WarThe 1982 Ethiopian-Somali Border War occurred between the months of June and August of 1982, when Somali rebels with Ethiopian military support invaded central Somalia and captured several towns. The fighting was a catalyst for U.S. military assistance in Somalia, which brought a halt to the clashes....
- Djiboutian Civil WarDjiboutian Civil WarThe Djiboutian Civil War was a conflict in Djibouti between the People's Rally for Progress government and the predominantly Afar rebel group, the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy...
1991 - 1994 - Ethiopian-Eritrean War 1998 - 2000, between Eritrea and Ethiopia
- Somali Civil WarSomali Civil WarThe Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. The conflict, which began in 1991, has caused destabilisation throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to rebel forces...
1986 - present (several issues involved)- Operation Restore Hope - 1992 - 1993, UN intervention
- War in Somalia - 2006 - 2009, Ethiopian intervention
- Insurgency in OgadenInsurgency in OgadenThe insurgency in Ogaden, waged by the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front in Ethiopia's Somali region, began in 1995 and is ongoing. Originally an accepted political party, which contributed three Presidents of the Somali Region, after the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary...
- 2007 Ogaden conflict between Ethiopia and the ONLF
- Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of AfricaOperation Enduring Freedom - Horn of AfricaCombined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa is a joint task force of United States Africa Command . It originated under Operation Enduring Freedom-Horn of Africa as part of the United States response to the September 11, 2001 attacks...
October 2002-present, between NATO and al-QaedaAl-QaedaAl-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad... - Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict June 10–13 2008, between Eritrea and Djibouti
See also
- Political history of Eastern AfricaPolitical history of Eastern Africa-Ancient and Medieval history:*25th century BC: Earliest recorded Egyptian expedition to the Land of Punt in the Horn of Africa organized by Pharaoh Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty....
(for ancient, medieval, and early modern conflicts) - History of DjiboutiHistory of DjiboutiThe Republic of Djibouti gained its independence on June 27, 1977. It is the successor to French Somaliland , which was created in the first half of the 19th century as a result of French interest in the Horn of Africa.-Early years:The history of Djibouti, recorded in poetry and songs of its...
- History of EritreaHistory of EritreaEritrea is an ancient name, associated in the past with its Greek form Erythraía , and its derived Latin form Erythræa. This name relates to that of the Red Sea, then called the Erythræan Sea, from the Greek for "red", ἐρυθρος). The Italians created the colony of Eritrea in the 19th century around...
- History of EthiopiaHistory of EthiopiaThis article covers the prehistory and history of Ethiopia.-Prehistory:Lucy, discovered in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia's Afar region, is considered the world's second-oldest, but most complete and best preserved, adult Australopithecine fossil...
- History of SomaliaHistory of SomaliaSomalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya on its southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen on its north, the Indian Ocean at its east, and Ethiopia...