Ethiopian National Defense Force: Information from Answers.com

Ethiopian National Defense Force
Flag of Ethiopia
Service branches	Ethiopian Army, Ethiopian Air Force, Ethiopian Navy (1955-1991)
Manpower
Military age	18
Available for military service	14,568,277 males, age 15–49, 14,482,885 females, age 15–49
Fit for military service	8,072,755 males, age 15–49, 7,902,660 females, age 15–49
Reaching military age annually	803,777 males, 801,789 females
Active personnel	182,500 (ranked 44th)
Expenditures
Budget	$450 million (2007)
Percent of GDP	2.4%

The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) is one of the largest military forces in Africa along with Egypt and Morocco, 29th largest in the world.

Civil direction of the military is carried out through the Ministry of Defense. The MOD is the Ethiopian government ministry which oversees the ground, and air as well as military industry (the Defense Industry Sector). The current Minister is Siraj Fergessa.

ENDF force sizes have recently varied considerably in light of the end of the war with Eritrea in 2000. In January 2007, during the war in Somalia, Ethiopian forces were said to be about 200,000 troops.^[1] This is down from the 252,000 estimated troops in 2002^[2], which was roughly the same number maintained during the Derg regime that fell to the rebel forces in 1991. Since the early 1990s, the ENDF has been in transition from a rebel force to a professional military organization with the aid of the U.S. and other countries. Training in de-mining, humanitarian and peace-keeping operations, professional military education, and military justice are among the major programs sponsored by the U.S.

Ethiopia currently has a total of 182,500 personnel serving in its armed forces.^{[citation needed]} It is currently ranked 44th in number of active soldiers.^{[citation needed]}

Military branches

The ENDF consists of the four branches: Ground Forces, Ethiopian Air Force, Police, and Militia.

Being a landlocked country, Ethiopia today has no navy. However, Ethiopia acquired a coastline on the Red Sea in 1950 and created the Ethiopian Navy in 1955. It operated until Eritrea's independence in 1991 left Ethiopia landlocked again.

History of the Army

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Main article: Army of the Ethiopian Empire

Soldier of Ethiopian National Defense Force, 2006.

The Ethiopian army's origins and military traditions span back through the nation's long history. Due to Ethiopia's location at the crossroads between the Middle East and Africa; which have placed it in the middle of East and Western politics, its army has been tested for many centuries from foreign aggression. From the Egyptian aggression to Ottoman invasion, to the European invasion at Adwa and concerns from the 21st century global war on terror, the country has tackled several foreign aggression through out its history. In 1579, the Ottoman attempt to expand from a coastal base at Massawa was defeated. Ethiopia was also able to defeat Egyptians in 1868 at Gura led by Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV. European opinion about Ethiopia/Abyssinia was that the "Abyssinians are suffering from 'superiority complex' which maybe traced to Gundet, Gura and Adwa" ^[3] However, Ethiopia faced several more attacks from many directions.

Ethiopia's (also labeled Abyssinia by Europeans) modern military history generally dates from its response to the European colonial expansion of the 19th century during the Scramble for Africa; during which it maintained its independence by defeating the army of the Kingdom of Italy in the Battle of Adwa.

Modern history

Battle of Adwa

The Battle of Adowa (also known as Adwa or sometimes by the Italian name Adua) is the best known victory of Ethiopian forces over invaders, confirming Ethiopia's existence as an independent state. Fought on 1 March 1896 against the Kingdom of Italy near the town of Adwa, it was the decisive battle of the First Italo–Ethiopian War. Assisted by all of the major nobles of Ethiopia—including Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, Ras Makonnen, Ras Mengesha Yohannes, and Ras Mikael of Wollo -- Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia not only struck a powerful blow against the Italians, but also to contemporary racial prejudices. In the words of historian Bahru Zewde, "It was a victory of blacks over whites. Adwa thus anticipated by almost a decade the equally shattering experience to the whites of the Japanese victory over Russia in 1905."^[4]

Under Haile Selassie I

Further information: Ethiopian Order of Battle Second Italo-Abyssinian War and Italian invasion of Ethiopia

Modernization of the army took place under the regency of Tafari Mekonnen, who later reigned as Emperor Haile Selassie I. He created an Imperial Bodyguard in 1917 from the earlier mahal safari that had traditionally attended the Ethiopian Emperor; its elite were trained at the French military academy at Saint-Cyr or by Belgian military advisers. He also created his own military school at Holeta in January 1935.^[5]

However, these efforts were not sufficient nor instituted in enough time to stop the rising tide of Italian fascism. Ethiopia lost its independence in the Italian invasion of Ethiopia of 1935-36. The country regained its independence after the 1941 East African Campaign of World War II with the intervention of forces from the British Commonwealth.

Korean War

Ethiopian soldiers in the Korean War, 1951

In keeping with the principle of collective security, for which Haile Selassie was an outspoken proponent, Ethiopia sent a contingent under General Mulugueta Bulli, known as the Kagnew Battalion, to take part in the UN Conflict in Korea. It was attached to the American 7th Infantry Division, and fought in a number of engagements including the Battle of Pork Chop Hill.^[6] 3,518 Ethiopian troops served in the war; they lost 121 killed and 536 wounded during the conflict in Korea.^[7]

After the Ethiopian Revolution

At the beginning of the Ethiopian Revolution, which led to rule by a junta of military officers known as the Derg ("Committee"), Emperor Haile Selassie carefully divided the Ethiopian military into separate commands. The US Army Handbook for Ethiopia notes that each service was provided with training and equipped from different foreign countries "to assure reliability and retention of power."^[8] The military consisted of the following: Imperial Bodyguard (also known as the "First Division", 8,000 men); three army divisions; services which included the Airborne, Engineers, and Signal Corps; the Territorial Army (5,000 men); and the police (28,000 men).^[8]

When the Derg gained control of Ethiopia, they shifted their source for the equipment, organization and training away from Western European and American governments towards those of the Soviet Union and other Comecon countries, especially Cuba.

During this period, Ethiopian forces were often locked in counter-insurgency campaigns against various guerrilla groups. They honed both conventional and guerrilla tactics during campaigns in Eritrea, and the Ethiopian Civil War that toppled Ethiopian former military dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991 and also by repelling an invasion launched by Somalia in the 1977–1978 Ogaden War.

The Ethiopian army grew considerably during this time under the Derg (1974–1987), and the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia under Mengistu (1987–1991), especially during the latter regime. Gebru Tareke describes the organization of the Ethiopian military in early 1990, a year before Mengistu fled the country:

Ethiopian ground forces comprised four revolutionary armies organized as task forces, eleven corps, twenty-four infantry divisions, and four mountain divisions, reinforced by five mechanized divisions, two airborne divisions, and ninety-five brigades, including four mechanized brigades, three artillery brigades, four tank brigades, twelve special commando and paracommando brigades -- including the Spartakiad, which became operational in 1987 under the preparation and guidance of North Koreans -- seven BM-rocket battalions, and ten brigades of paramilitary forces.^[9]

Estimated forces under arms increased dramatically:^[10]

1974: 41,000 (Ethiopian Revolution)
1977: 50,000 (Ogaden War)
1979: 65,000
1991: 230,000 (overthrow of Mengistu)

Cuba provided a significant influx of military advisors and troops over this period, with the largest escalation during the Ogaden War with Somalia, supported by a Soviet airlift^[11]:

1977–1978: 17,000 (Ogaden War)
1978: 12,000
1984: 3,000
1989: All forces withdrawn

1991 Order of Battle

By 1991, the Ethiopian army under Mengistu government had grown in size, but the regime was overcome by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ, former EPLF), Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and other opposition factions during a decades long civil war. Mengistu's People's Militia had also grown to about 200,000 members. The mechanized forces of the army comprised 1,200 T-54/55, 100 T-62 tanks, and 1,100 armored personnel carriers (APCs), but readiness was estimated to only be about 30% operational because of the withdrawal of financial support, lack of maintenance expertise and parts from the Soviet Union, Cuba and other nations.^[10]

Army commands consisted of the following:

First Revolutionary Army (headquartered at Harar)
Second Revolutionary Army (headquartered at Asmera)
Third Revolutionary Army (headquartered at Kombolcha)
Fourth Revolutionary Army (headquartered at Nekemte)
Fifth Revolutionary Army (headquartered at Gondar)

To these armies were assigned the operational forces of the army, comprising:

Under EPRDF

War on Terror

Since the fall of Mengistu, the Ethiopian army under the EPRDF party has been called into service fighting counter-insurgency campaigns, and also fought against the newly independent Eritrea and joined America's "war on terror" by driving the Islamic Courts Union out of Mogadishu in the War in Somalia.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, and with the rise of radical Islamism, Ethiopia again turned to the Western powers for alliance and assistance. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the Ethiopian army began to train with US forces based out of the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) established in Djibouti, in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency. Ethiopia allowed the US to station military advisors at Camp Hurso.^[12] Part of the training at Camp Hurso has included U.S. Army elements, including 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, training the 12th, 13th and 14th Division Reconnaissance Companies, which from July 2003 were being formed into a new Ethiopian anti-terrorism battalion.^[13]

Ethio-Eritrea war

The former allies EPRDF and PFDJ (former EPLF) led their countries Ethiopia and Eritrea, respectively, into the Eritrean-Ethiopian War of 1998. The war was fought over the disputed region of Badme. Following the war's end, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, a body founded by the UN, established that the Badme region had in fact belonged to Eritrea^[14]. Although the two countries are now at peace, Ethiopia rejected the results of the international court's decision, and continued to occupy Badme. Most observers agree that Ethiopia's rejection of international law, coupled with the high numbers of soldiers maintained on the border by each side - a debilitatingly high number, particularly for the Eritrean side - means that the two countries are effectively still in conflict.

Somalia

Ethiopia send troops to southern Somalia to help the UN backed weak transitional government. The TFG, Ethiopia and Puntland fought together against al Shabab and other radical islamists to take over the capital Mogadishu. After the islamists split into two groups, moderate islamists led by Sheikh Ahmed signed a UN backed peace deal with the TFG and established a larger government in Mogadishu. Ethiopian troops withdrew as part of the terms of the peace deal.

Government forces have been engaged in battle against Ogaden insurgents led by the Ogaden National Liberation Front

Ground Forces

Ethiopian T-62 tanks at the end of the Ethiopian Civil War

The modern ENDF has a wide mix of equipment. Many of its major weapons systems stem from the Communist era and are of Soviet and Eastern bloc design.

The United States was Ethiopia's major arms supplier from the end of World War II until 1977, when Ethiopia began receiving massive arms shipments from the Soviet Union. These shipments, including armored patrol boats, transport and jet fighter aircraft, helicopters, tanks, trucks, missiles, artillery, and small arms have incurred an unserviced Ethiopian debt to the former Soviet Union estimated at more than $3.5 billion.

Defense Industry

Ethiopia has a several defense organizations that produce and overhaul different weapons systems. Most of these were built under the Derg regime which had plans for a large military industrial complex.

Main article: Ethiopian Defense Industry

Ground Equipment

Main battle tanks

T-54/55 - 250
T-62 - 100
T-72 - 50^[15]

IFVs/APCs

BMP-1 - 25
M113 - 110
BTR-152 - 10
BTR-60 - 14
BRDM-2 - 250

Infantry weapons

Air-Defence

Self-propelled artillery

Towed artillery

Rocket artillery

BM-21 Grad

Mortars

Ethiopian Air Force

Main article: Ethiopian Air Force

Helicopters

Fighter aircraft

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed - 21 (retired),
Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker - 18^[15]

Ground attack Aircraft

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN Flogger-F - 32^[15],
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot - 4

Cargo aircraft

Trainer aircraft

Aermacchi SF.260TP - 5
Aero L-39 Albatros - 14

Peacekeeping

Ethiopia has served in various United Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions.

Ivory Coast

Ethiopian troops have played a critical role in the success of recent peacekeeping operations in Burundi.^[16]^[17]

Liberia

The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was established by Security Council resolution 1509 (2003) of 19 September 2003 to support the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the peace process; protect United Nations staff, facilities and civilians; support humanitarian and human rights activities; as well as assist in national security reform, including national police training and formation of a new, restructured military.^[18] In November 2007, nearly 1,800 Ethiopian troops serving with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) were presented with UN Peacekeeping medals for their "invaluable contribution to the peace process."^[19]

Burundi

Ethiopian troops were also deployed in a peacekeeping mission in Burundi border.^[16]^[20]

Rwanda

Ethiopia played a critical role in a peacekeeping mission in the wartorn Rwanda.^[17]

Darfur

Many thousands of Ethiopian peacekeepers are involved in the joint African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur, western Sudan. The Security Council authorized a UNAMID force of about 26,000 uniformed personnel. ^[21]^[22]

References

^ "Ethiopian army eager to learn from U.S. soldiers". Stars and Stripes. 2007-01-07. http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=41521&archive=true. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
^ "Ethiopia Armed Forces". Nations Encyclopedia. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Ethiopia-ARMED-FORCES.html.
^ Clapham, Christopher 1987. Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Crabites, Pierre.
^ Bahru Zewde, A History of Modern Ethiopia (London: James Currey, 1991), p. 81.
^ Ethiopia Military Tradition in National Life Library of Congress
^ As described at the Ethiopian Korean War Veterans website.
^ "U.S. Forces/Allies in the Korean War: Factsheet". United States Army. http://korea50.army.mil/history/factsheets/allied.shtml. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
^ ^a ^b Cited in Marina and David Ottaway, Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution (New York: Africana, 1978), p. 45.
^ Gebru Tareke, The Ethiopian Revolution: War in the Horn of Africa (New Haven: Yale University, 2009), p. 120
^ ^a ^b Ethiopia: Army Library of Congress Country Studies
^ Ethiopia: Cuba Library of Congress Country Studies
^ "U.S. trainers prepare Ethiopians to fight". Stars and Stripes. 2006-12-30. http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=41429&archive=true. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
^ Memo: Meritorious Unit Commendation for 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, 2d Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (LI), Fort Drum, NY 13602, from 2nd Brigade, 10th MD(LI), 21 January 2004, downloaded from Internet and accessed mid September 2007.
^ http://www.un.org/NewLinks/eebcarbitration/
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Ethiopians have always been tough, mean". Agence France Presse. 2006-12-20. http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Africa&set_id=1&click_id=&art_id=iol1166618615880E312. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
^ ^a ^b Ethiopian peacekeeping in Africa
^ ^a ^b Ethiopian peacekeeping missions
^ UNMIL in Liberia
^ Ethiopian troops awarded UN peacekeeping medals
^ Ethiopian peacekeeping missions in Burundi
^ More Ethiopian troops arrive in Darfur bolstering peacekeeping operation
^ UNAMID

Published references

Christopher F. Foss, Jane's Tank and Combat Vehicles Recognition Guide, 2002.
David Rendall, Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide, 1999.
Mike Spick, Illustrated Directory of Fighters, 2002.
Günter Endres & Michael J. Gething, Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide, 2005.

External links

Ethiopian Military website
History of the Military of Ethiopia at Library of Congress, Introduction (internal links broken)
History of the Military of Ethiopia at Library of Congress, Military Tradition (internal links broken)
History of the Military of Ethiopia at Library of Congress, Armed Forces (until 1991) (internal links broken)
A history of the Ethiopian Air Force (dehai-news)
CIA World Factbook: Ethiopia

Ethiopian National Defense Force

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