Red Terror (Ethiopia)

Red Terror
Qey Shibir
Part of the Ethiopian Civil War
Native name ቀይ ሽብር
Date23 September 1976 – 22 March 1978[1]
LocationEthiopia
TypeSummary execution, systematic purge, mass murder, politicide, considered a genocide by the Ethiopian Federal Court
Cause
MotiveConsolidation of Derg control over Ethiopia
Deaths10,000–980,000
TrialSee Trials of the Derg members

The Ethiopian Red Terror, also known as the Qey Shibir (Amharic: ቀይ ሽብር, romanizedḳäy 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.

  1. ^ Mekonnen, Yohannes K. (April 2013). Ethiopia: The Land, Its People, History and Culture. New Africa Press. ISBN 978-9987-16-024-2.
  2. ^ Metaferia, Getachew (2009). Ethiopia and the United States: History, Diplomacy, and Analysis. Algora Publishing. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-87586-647-5.
  3. ^ Harff, Barbara & Gurr, Ted Robert: "Toward an Empirical Theory of Genocides and Politicides", International Studies Quarterly 32(3), p. 364 (1988).
  4. ^ US admits helping Mengistu escape BBC, 22 December 1999
  5. ^ "Genocides, Politicides, and Other Mass Murder Since 1945, With Stages in 2008". Genocide Prevention Advisory Network. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2016.