The Second Afar insurgency was an
insurgency
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregu ...
in the
Afar Region of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
and the
Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea (also known as Dankalia), waged by various
Afar
Afar may refer to:
Peoples and languages
*Afar language, an East Cushitic language
*Afar people, an ethnic group of Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia
Places Horn of Africa
*Afar Desert or Danakil Desert, a desert in Ethiopia
*Afar Region, a region ...
rebel groups. Both Ethiopia and Eritrea supported different rebel groups in the region in a
proxy war
A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities. In order for a conflict to be considered a pr ...
, and occasionally engaged in border skirmishes with each other, as well as with opposing rebel groups.
Background
The
Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front
The Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front ( am, የአፋር አብዮታዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ አንድነት ግንባር; abbreviated ARDUF) is an Afar political party in Ethiopia, founded in 1993. It had been a member of the United ...
(ARDUF) was founded in 1993, through the merging of three Afar rebel groups, the
Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Union
Afar may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Afar language, an East Cushitic language
*Afar people, an ethnic group of Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia
Places Horn of Africa
*Afar Desert or Danakil Desert, a desert in Ethiopia
*Afar Region, a regio ...
, the
Afar Ummatah Demokrasiyyoh Focca (AUDF), and the
Afar Revolutionary Forces
Afar may refer to:
Peoples and languages
*Afar language, an East Cushitic language
* Afar people, an ethnic group of Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia
Places Horn of Africa
*Afar Desert or Danakil Desert, a desert in Ethiopia
* Afar Region, a regi ...
(ARF). The three groups were united under the goal of creating an independent state in the
Afar Region. The group operates within Ethiopia, allegedly receiving Eritrean support. In 1995, ARDUF perpetrated its first attack, kidnapping an Italian tourist. The victim was later released unharmed.
[
The Red Sea Afar Democratic Organisation (RSADO) was founded in 1999. Along with the Eritrean National Salvation Front (ENSF), the group operates from bases located in Ethiopia, launching attacks into Eritrean territory. Both groups are allegedly supported by Ethiopia.]
Timeline
Prior the 2000s
* In 1995, ARDUF insurgents kidnapped and later released an Italian tourist.
2000–2009
* In 2002, a splinter faction of ARDUF abandoned the insurgency, and joined the Ethiopian political scene.
* In 2003, ARDUF issued a statement, forbidding foreigners from entering the Afar region.
* In March 2007, ARDUF kidnapped five European tourists and 13 Ethiopians in the Danakil Depression.
* On 16 November 2008, RSADO insurgents claimed to have killed over 285 Eritrean military officers including top military leaders in a military training center, in the remote Dankalia region of the Afambo local area. According to a rebel spokesman, fighters sneaked up to the military base at around 8:30 local time, and bombarded a hull packed with over 450 Eritrean military officers who were celebrating the end of higher military training. The rebel official added that they also hit a truck carrying gas tanker and a generator outside.
* On 26 January 2009, RSADO insurgents reportedly killed 20 soldiers and wounded 30, in the aftermath of an attack on a military camp in the Dankalia region of Eritrea.
2010
* On 1 January 2010, RSADO and the ENSF claimed responsibility for two attacks in Kokobay and Kermeti, Eritrea. 25 Eritrean soldiers were killed and 38 were wounded. The attackers' losses amounted to 10 killed and two captured. According to American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and Eritrean intelligence service sources, the attacks were perpetrated by the Ethiopian Armed Forces
The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) ( am, የኢፌዲሪ መከላከያ ሠራዊት, Ye’īfēdērī mekelakeya šerawīt, lit=FDRE Defense Force) is the military force of Ethiopia. Civilian control of the military is carried out t ...
.
* On 22 April 2010, RSADO and the ENSF launched a coordinated attack on several Eritrean military camps in the south of the country. Both rebel groups announced in a joint statement that they had briefly taken control over the camps and seized weapons and military intelligence. The attack occurred at around 3:00AM local time and rebels were reported to have held it for three more hours until government forces returned with reinforcements. A total of 11 government soldiers were killed and 20 were injured. No rebel casualties were reported. On 28 April, a RSADO spokesman put the army death toll higher at 18 killed and a number of supplies captured during the "surprise" onslaught.
2011–2018
* In March 2011, ARDUF claimed to have killed 49 Ethiopian soldiers.[
* In April 2011, the Ethiopian prime minister ]Meles Zenawi
Meles Zenawi Asres (Tigrinya and ; , born Legesse Zenawi Asres; 9 May 1955 – 20 August 2012) was an Ethiopian soldier and politician who served as President of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995 and then Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 until his ...
openly declared for the first time that his government will support rebel groups fighting to overthrow president Isaias Afewerki
Isaias Afwerki ( ti, ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ, ; born 2 February 1946) is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory in M ...
.
* On 22 October 2011, RSADO and ENSF claimed to have killed 12 and wounded 15 Eritrean soldiers, after they launched coordinated attacks on the towns of Kermed, Adi Metras, Ingra Abo and Adi Tela’a.
* On 1 December 2011, the ENSF and RSADO raided an Eritrean military base at dawn in the southern part of the country in Enda Haji
Enda is an Irish given name. Though predominantly a male name, it can refer to a man or a woman.
It may refer to:
* Enda of Aran (died c. 530), Irish saint
* Enda Barrett (born 1987), Irish hurler
* Enda Bonner (born 1949), Irish politician
* ...
, near the town of Tsorona Tsorona ( Ge’ez : ጾሮና) is a subregion in the southern Debub region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human im ...
. A RSADO spokesman Yasin Mohamed said his forces held the area until 11:00AM, before they returned to their positions in the safe havens of Ethiopia where the group's headquarters is located. A total of 17 government soldiers were killed, five were injured, and two soldiers were captured by rebel fighters.
* In 2012, RSADO killed 30 Eritrean soldiers in an attack on a military base.
* On 17 January 2012, ARDUF killed five, wounded three, and kidnapped four people, in the aftermath of an attack
Attack may refer to:
Warfare and combat
* Offensive (military)
* Charge (warfare)
* Attack (fencing)
* Strike (attack)
* Attack (computing)
* Attack aircraft
Books and publishing
* ''The Attack'' (novel), a book
* '' Attack No. 1'', comic an ...
on the Erta Ale volcano. The majority of the victims were foreign tourists.
* On 15 March 2012, the Ethiopian army carried a cross border raid into Eritrea, destroying three ARDUF camps in Ramid, Gelahbe and Gimbi. An Ethiopian spokesman claimed that the rebels were receiving Eritrean training.
* On 7 September 2013, RSADO and the Saho People's Democratic Movement (SPDM) formed an alliance in order to jointly combat the Eritrean government.
* On 29 April 2014, RSADO claimed to have killed 27 Eritrean intelligence agents, in the aftermath of an attack on military camp.
* On 22 December 2014, RSADO and the Democratic Front for Eritrean Unity
The Democratic Front for Eritrean Unity (DFEU) is a rebel group currently fighting the Eritrean government. They are allied with the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organisation (RSADO), with whom they have done joint operations.
References
Guerr ...
(DFEU) claimed joint responsibility for an attack on a military camp located in Adi-Kala, allegedly killing 7 intelligence officers.
* In July 2015, clashes between a newly formed armed group and the Ethiopian army left 50 reported killed on 2 July and 30 killed in the counter-attacks on 10 July.
* The Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict is officially ended on 8 July 2018 with a signed "joint declaration of peace and friendship".
* Following the peace agreement, on 18 July 2018, after twenty years Ethiopian Airlines restarted its operations to Eritrea. Flight ET0312 left Bole International Airport to Asmara
Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...
.
See also
* First Afar insurgency (Djiboutian Civil War)
* Ethiopian Civil War
The Ethiopian Civil War was a civil war in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea, fought between the Ethiopian military junta known as the Derg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991.
The Derg overthre ...
* Eritrean War of Independence
The Eritrean War of Independence was a war for independence which Eritrean independence fighters waged against successive Ethiopian governments from 1 September 1961 to 24 May 1991.
Eritrea was an Italian colony from the 1880s until the d ...
* Eritrean–Ethiopian War
The Eritrean–Ethiopian War, also known as the Badme War, was a major armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea that took place from May 1998 to June 2000. The war has its origins in a territorial dispute between the two states. After Eritr ...
* 2013 Eritrean Army mutiny
The 2013 Eritrean Army mutiny was mounted on 21 January 2013, when around 100-200 soldiers of the Eritrean Army in the capital city, Asmara seized the headquarters of the state broadcaster, EriTV, and allegedly broadcast a message demanding refor ...
References
{{Post-Cold War African conflicts
Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Africa
Wars involving Ethiopia
Military history of Ethiopia
Wars involving Eritrea
Military history of Eritrea
Insurgencies in Africa
Proxy wars