The Ethiopian Civil War was fought between the Derg, the military committee that overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, and a variety of rebel groups. The Derg, which became dominated by Mengistu Haile Mariam, installed a Marxist-Leninist government backed by the Soviet Union, and in the Red Terror it killed large numbers of its opponents. It faced the Eritrean independence movement, which had been fighting since the 1960s, as well as the Tigray People's Liberation Front and other groups in the north and the Somali invasion of 1977. A devastating famine in the mid-1980s worsened the country's suffering. The rebels took Addis Ababa in 1991, ending the regime, and Eritrea became independent two years later.
Before and after
- 28 July 1974Birth of Alexis Tsipras
- 30 July 1974Birth of Hilary Swank
- 6 August 1974Establishment of Los Katíos National Park
- 20 August 1974Birth of Amy Adams
- from 12 September 1974 to 4 June 1991Ethiopian Civil War
- 14 September 1974Discovery of Leda
- 30 October 1974The Rumble in the Jungle
- 11 November 1974Birth of Leonardo DiCaprio
- 12 November 1974Registration Convention
More in Wars, politics & history
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- 11 February 1990Nelson Mandela is released from prison
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- from 15 March 2011 to 8 December 2024Syrian Civil War
- 28 February 20262026 Iran War
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.
