LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Eritrea: Independence
built 627 days ago
The State of Eritrea (Hagere Ertra) is a nation of northeastern Africa. Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 remains unresolved.
Source:
Prior to World War II, Eritrea had been an Italian colony since the 1880s, then under British control when the Brits clobbered the Italians in 1941. The UN ruled in 1952 that Ethiopia should have "trusteeship" over an autonomous Eritrea. Ten years later Ethiopia forcibly annexed Eritrea -- igniting the struggle for independence.
Source:
![[Country Map]](http://retrieverimages.lycos.com/images/e/r/i/eritrea/i/025.jpg)
After independence, Eritrea had established a growing and healthy economy. But the 1998-2000 war with Ethiopia had a major negative impact on the economy and discouraged investment. Eritrea lost many valuable economic assets in particular during the last round of fighting in May-June 2000, when a significant portion of its territory in the agriculturally important west and south was occupied by Ethiopia. As a result of this last round of fighting, more than one million Eritreans were displaced, though by 2007 nearly all have been resettled. According to World Bank estimates, Eritreans ... lost livestock worth some $225 million, and 55,000 homes worth $41 million were destroyed during the war. Damage to public buildings, including hospitals, is estimated at $24 million.
Source:
Eritrea formerly supported a large population of elephants. Ptolemaic kings of Egypt used it as a source of war elephants in the third century BC. Between 1955 and 2001 there were no reported sightings of elephant herds, and they were thought to have fallen victim to the war of independence. In December 2001 a herd of about 30, including 10 juveniles, was observed in the vicinity of the Gash River. The elephants seemed to have formed a symbiotic relationship with olive baboons. It is estimated that there are around 100 elephants left in Eritrea, the most northerly of East Africa's elephants.[48]
Source:
Eritrea had been ruled by many powers before it was colonised by the Italians in 1885. The Italians remained in power until they were defeated by Allied forces in World War II (1941), and Eritrea became a British protectorate. After the war, the United Nations eventually decided that the area was to become part of a federation with Ethiopia. When Eritrean independence fighters rioted in the early 1960s, the land was annexed by Ethiopia, starting a 30-year long civil war.
Source:
The short history of Eritrea has been shaped by continuing conflict with its neighbour Ethiopia. After a 30 year war Eritrea gained a military victory on May 24, 1991 and celebrated full independence from Ethiopia in 1993. However the fragile peace was broken by border disputes over the town of Badme which led to renewed fighting between 1998 and 2000 with 70,000 lives lost and a million Eritreans displaced. The Algiers Agreement signed in 2000 laid down the terms of a new peace, with monitoring by the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Independence