Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE DEMISE OF THE DERG
Red Terror only cemented the stance of those opposing the Derg. Numerous armed libera-
tion movements arose, including those of the Afar, Oromo, Somali and particularly Tigray-
an peoples. For years, with limited weaponry, they fought the military might of the Soviet-
backed Derg, which had the second-largest army in sub-Saharan Africa.
The various opposition groups eventually united to form the Ethiopian People's Revolu-
tionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which in 1989 began its historic military campaign to-
wards Addis Ababa.
The Derg was doubly confronted by the
EPRDF in Ethiopia and the Eritrean People's
Liberation Front (EPLF) in Eritrea. With the fall
of his allies in Eastern Europe, and with his
state in financial ruin as well as his own military
authority in doubt, Mengistu's time was up and
he fled the country on 21 May 1991. Seven days
later, the EPRDF entered Addis Ababa and the Derg was done.
Mengistu received asylum in Zimbabwe, where he remains to this day, despite being
tried in absentia in Ethiopia and sentenced to death.
When the EPRDF rolled into Addis Ababa it was
navigating with photocopies of the Addis Ababa
map found in Lonely Planet's
Africa on a Shoes-
tring
.
