Red Star Campaign

Red Star Campaign
Part of the Eritrean War of Independence and Ethiopian Civil War
Date 15 February – 5 July 1982[1] Location Sahel, Eritrea Province, Ethiopia Result EPLF/TPLF victory
Belligerents
Ethiopia	EPLF TPLF
Commanders and leaders
Mengistu H. Mariam	Petros Solomon
Strength
84,537 regular troops[2]	22,184 Eritrean guerrillas (including 2,500 Tigrayan guerrillas)
Casualties and losses
10,115 killed 23,313 wounded 3,159 missing	4,000 killed 12,000 wounded 220 captured

Red Star Campaign (Amharic: ኦፕሬሽን ቀይ ኮከብ, romanized: k’eyi kokeb zemecha), officially known as the Red Star Multifaceted Revolutionary Campaign (Amharic: የቀይ ኮከብ ሁለገብ አብዮታዊ ዘመቻ, lit. 'yek’ey kokeb hulegeb ābiyotawī zemecha') was a 1982 Ethiopian Army offensive and operation during the Ethiopian Civil War aimed at eliminating separatist forces, specifically the EPLF from Eritrea. From February to June of 1982, more than 80,000 Ethiopian troops attempted to crush the EPLF in a series of offensives. Despite the operation, the government made no significant gains in Eritrea. Contrary to crushing the Eritrean will to resist, the unsuccessful operation actually strengthened it, prompting the people to rally behind the EPLF with increased fervor. Red Star dealt a personal and political blow to the regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam.^[3]