Ethiopian Civil War
Part of the conflicts in the Horn of Africa and the Cold War
Ethiopian Civil War.png
Military situation during the Ethiopian Civil War
Date12 September 1974 – 28 May 1991
(16 years, 8 months, 3 weeks and 2 days)
Location
Ethiopia; Eritrea
Result

EPLF/TPLF rebel victory

  • Fall of the Ethiopian Empire and subsequent implementation of military rule
  • Creation, then collapse, of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia by the Derg
  • Installation of the TPLF-led transitional government which would later become the EPRDF government in Ethiopia
  • Installation of the EPLF-established PFDJ government in Eritrea after independence from Ethiopia
Territorial
changes
Independence of Eritrea; Ethiopia becomes a landlocked country.
Belligerents

EPRDF

  • TPLF
  • EPDM

Logo of the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Party.svg EPRP
MEISON (from 1977)
EDU
OLF
WSLF
ALF
SLF (1978–1984)
ONLF
Eritrean separatists:

  • ELF (until 1981)
  • EPLF
Supported by:
EgyptEgypt
Libya (1977–1985)
Somalia

Derg(1974–1987)
PDR Ethiopia(1987–1991)
MEISON (until 1977)

Supported by:
 Soviet Union (1977–1990)
 Cuba
 North Korea
Libya (1985–1991)
 Israel (from 1990)
 Yugoslavia (1974–1976)
Commanders and leaders
Meles Zenawi
Tsadkan Gebretensae
Isaias Afwerki
Elemo Qiltu 
Mengesha Seyoum
Mengistu Haile Mariam
Tesfaye Gebre Kidan
Strength
141,000 (1991)
110,000 (1990)
13,000 (1991)
230,000 (1991)
Casualties and losses
~400,000–579,000 killed
~1,200,000 deaths from famine