Eritrea has been officially recognised as an independent state since 1993 after the collapse of the Ethiopia regime under The Dergue, and consequently the rule over its mountainous Eastern Province. This came as the culmination of 30 years of war against her imperial master – a federation which had occurred in 1951 under UN resolution 390.

A former Italian colony (until its defeat in WWII) Eritrea was considered to be a strategically important territory both for the Ethiopian government - due to its Red Sea coastline and mineral resources – and also to the United States, which located its important Cold War listening station ‘Kagnew’ in the capital, Asmara.

The war between Eritrea and the Ethiopian government - backed by both the US and Soviet Union –  was a long and brutal one. The conflict precipitated an internecine struggle within Eritrea itself – broadly speaking between the Eritrean Liberation Front (originally based on a lowland Muslim population) and the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front. The EPLF prevailed in the early 1980s, and was transformed into a resourceful and effective fighting force able to withstand the superior weaponry, numbers and international support of the Ethiopian army.

The EPLF forged what became a romanticised liberation society – proselytising for literacy and women’s rights (a significant proportion of the combat forces were also women) and appeared to be building what many outside observers saw as the ideal model for the modern African society.

When The Dergue conscrpted army of Ethiopian peasants was finally defeated in 1991 it was as a result of the twin forces of the Eritreans and their neighbouring rebels the Tigreyans. However this alliance was relatively short lived. In 1998 the Eritreans and Ethiopians went to war again. Ostensibly a border dispute, a month of fighting however did irreversible damage to relations between Asmara and Addis. More fighting occurred in 1999, but before the conflict was adjourned (involving the deployment of a UN Peacekeeping force) between 80 and 100,000 combatants from both sides had been killed.

The EPLF now runs Eritrea with an autocratic rod of iron. Oppostion splinter groups – mainly remnants of the defeated ELF remain. Eritrea however remains a One Party State –  the only party able to operate being that of the President Isaias Aferwerki and his People's Front for Democracy and Justice. Presidential elections (originally planned for 1997) have never taken place, and the new constitution of the country (finished in 1997 and made with provision for multi-party politics) was never implemented. In 2001 the government closed down all privately owned print media, and many outspoken critics of the government have been arrested and imprisoned without trial.

In 2009, Eritrea was also accused by US Secretary general Hilary Clinton of supplying weapons to Somali militant Islamic group Al-Shabaab.

Eritrea has a population roughly divided in half between Christians and Sunni Muslims. Most of the foreign influences in the country come from the short-lived colonial occupation by Italy – the capital Asmara being noted for its Italian style architecture andcoffee shops. The country is also geographically divided between rugged mountain range and coastal plain with the capital being 2,400 meters above sea level.

Recommended readings (available at RAS bookstore)

Michela Wrong - I Didn’t Do It for You: How the World Used and Abused a Small African Nation

Dominique Jacquin-Berdal and Martin Plaut - Unfinished Business: Ethiopia and Eritrea at War  

Robert Kaplan - Surrender or Starve: Travels in Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea

RAS articles on Eritrea

 Key facts

Awate Pro-opposition site.

Africa Development Bank Group on Eritrea

Basic economic indicators and links to other "country operations" reports.

Columbia University - Eritrea African Studies internet resources from Columbia University.

Eritrea Daily Eritrea International News and Views Portal.

Eritrean Print and Oral Culture A digital archive of book covers and selected excerpts from publications in the field of the Eritrean literature, culture, and history, with some online folktales in English and Tigrinya, as well as sound recordings of tales and proverbs.

Government Links Links to every government related site on the web. The database includes national & regional institutions, representations abroad, political parties and additional information such as political resources, tourism, and human rights sites.

Shabait Eritrean Offical site provides news and information about the country and the government.

UNDP Eritrea

UNMEE The website of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

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