1889-1941: Eritrea is an Italian colony. 1941-1952: Eritrea
under British administration. 15 September 1952: UN decides to
set up a federation between Eritrea and Ethiopia. September
1961: The Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) takes up arms. 14
November 1962: Annexation of Eritrea, which becomes the 14th
province of Ethiopia. 1970: The ELF splits into two branches:
the original ELF and the People’s Liberation Forces (ELF-PLF).
This marxist breakaway group of the ELF becomes the Eritrean
People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). 1972-1974: Civil war between
the two groups. 1974: Ethiopian Emperor Haile Sellassie
overthrown. January 1975: Resumption of the joint campaign
against the Ethiopian army. 1977: Mengistu Haile Mariam seizes
power in Ethiopia. The USSR provides massive aid. The EPLF makes
a strategic withdrawal. May 1991: Asmara is taken by the EPLF
and Mengistu’s military-communist regime collapses. 25 April
1993: A referendum ratifies independence for Eritrea within the
frontiers of the former Italian colony. 6