Red Terror (Ethiopia)

Red Terror
Qey Shibir

Part of the Ethiopian Civil War
Skull remains at "Red Terror" Martyrs' Memorial Museum in Addis Ababa
Native name	ቀይ ሽብር
Date	23 September 1976 – 22 March 1978[1]
Location	Ethiopia
Type	Summary execution, systematic purge, mass murder, politicide, considered a genocide by the Ethiopian Federal Court
Cause	Assassination attempt of Mengistu Haile Mariam Anti-government movement of rival political groups, primarily the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party and All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement
Motive	Consolidation of Derg control over Ethiopia
Deaths	10,000–980,000
Trial	See Trials of the Derg members

This article contains Ethiopic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Ethiopic characters.

This article is part of a series about Mengistu Haile Mariam
WPE 1987 leader of Ethiopia 1974–1974, 1977–1987, 1984–1991 (1987–1991) Government Ethiopian Revolution Land reform Red Terror Civil War 1987 constitutional referendum 1987 Constitution of Ethiopia Shengo famine Ogaden War Eritrea(EPLF)-Ethiopia War Fall of the Derg Soviet-ethiopian relations
v t e

Part of a series on the
History of Ethiopia
Early history Prehistory   Dʿmt 980 – 400 BC
Middle Ages Aksum 100 – 940 AD Zagwe dynasty 900–1270 Early Solomonic period 1270–1529 Amda Seyon's Expansions 1314–1344
Early modern history Ethiopian–Adal War 1527–1543 Oromo migrations 1543 – 17th cent. Habesh Eyalet 1557 – 17th cent. Gondarine period 1632–1769 Zemene Mesafint 1769–1855 Ottoman border conflict 1832–1848
Modern history Unification 1855–1913 Menelik's Invasions 1878–1904 First Italo–Ethiopian War 1895–1896 Modernization 1913–1974 World War I 1914–1918 Second Italo–Ethiopian War 1935–1936 Italian East Africa 1936–1941 World War II 1941 Italian guerrilla war 1941–1943 Federation with Eritrea 1952–1962 Eritrean Independence War 1961–1991 Ethiopian Civil War 1974–1991 Ogaden War 1977–1978
Recent history Eritrean–Ethiopian War 1998–2000 Eritrean border conflict 1998–2018 Police massacre 2005 War in Somalia 2006–2009 East Africa drought 2011–2012 Oromo protests 2014–2016 Ethiopian civil conflict 2018–present Tigray war 2020–2022
Topics Economic history Emperor Aristocracy Military Army of the Empire Expansion Currency Aksumite Famines
v t e

The Ethiopian Red Terror, also known as the Qey Shibir (Amharic: ቀይ ሽብር, romanized: ḳäy shəbbər), was a violent political repression campaign of the Derg against other competing Marxist-Leninist groups in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea from 1976 to 1978. The Qey Shibir was an attempt to consolidate Derg rule during the political instability after their overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 and the subsequent Ethiopian Civil War. The Qey Shibir was based on the Red Terror of the Russian Civil War, and most visibly took place after Mengistu Haile Mariam became chairman of the Derg on 3 February 1977. It is estimated that 10,000 to 980,000 people were killed over the course of the Qey Shibir.^[2][3][4][5]

In 2007 and 2008, Mengistu was convicted in absentia by Ethiopia for his role in the Qey Shibir while leader of the Derg.