Background information on the ELF/ ELF-RC, and whether there was violence against the civilian population [ETH24141.E]

Background information on the ELF and its various factions, including the ELF-RC, can be found in the attachments to Responses to Information Requests ERT18918.E of 8 november 1994 and ERT23574.E of 11 April 1996, as well as in the attached documents.

During the armed struggle between the Eritrean rebels and the Ethiopian government in the 1960s and the 1970s, thousands of civilians lost their lives (Revolutionary and Dissident Movements, 85, 86). However, among the sources consulted by the DIRB, no reference was found to the ELF deliberately targeting civilians. According to Revolutionary and Dissident Movements, "joint ELF-PLF operations were carried out against US citizens in Ethiopia in retaliation for the supply of American arms to Ethiopia's armed forces" between March and June 1975, but it is not clear whether these US citizens were civilians (85).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Reference


Revolutionary and Dissident Movements: An International Guide. 1991. Edited by Henry W. Degenhardt. London: Longman.

Attachments


Ammar, Wolde-Yesus. 1992. Eritrea: Root Causes of War and Refugees. Baghdad: Sindbad Printing Co.

Revolutionary and Dissident Movements: An International Guide. 1991. Edited by Henry W. Degenhardt. London: Longman.

Other Sources Consulted


Ethiopia: A Country Study. 1993. Edited by Thomas P. Ofcansky and La Verle Berry. Washington, DC: Department of the Army.

The Europa World Year Book 1993. 1993. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications.

The Long Struggle of Eritrea for Independence and Constructive Peace. 1988. Edited by Lionel Cliffe and Basil Davidson. Nottingham: Spokesman.

Political Parties of Africa and the Middle East. 1993. Edited by Roger East and Tanya Joseph. The High, Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK.

IRB and UNHCR databases.

This list is not exhaustive. Some country-specific books available in the Resource Centre are not included.