Part of the Ethiopian Civil War | |
Date | 28 May 1991 |
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Location | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
Outcome | EPRDF victory
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The fall of the Derg was a military campaign that resulted in the defeat of the ruling Marxist–Leninist military junta, the Derg, by the rebel coalition Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) on 28 May 1991 in Addis Ababa, ending the Ethiopian Civil War. The Derg took power after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie and the Solomonic dynasty, an imperial dynasty of Ethiopia that began in 1270. The Derg suffered from insurgency with different factions, and separatist rebel groups since their early rule, beginning with the Ethiopian Civil War. The 1983–1985 famine, the Red Terror, and resettlement and villagization made the Derg unpopular with the majority of Ethiopians tending to support insurgent groups like the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF).
With the establishment of People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1987, the Derg, led by Mengistu Haile Mariam, was subdued by rebel groups due to lack of support from the Soviet Union since 1990.