Eritrea Revolution Day marks the start of the armed struggle for independence on this day in 1961. In 1936, Italy invaded Ethiopia and declared it colony.
The territory currently known as Eritrea arose when Italian colonial advance into Africa was halted by loss at the Battle of Adua in 1869. Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1936 and proclaimed it part of its colonial empire.
Following the defeat of the Italians in World War II, UN General Assembly Resolution 390 federated Eritrea with Ethiopia in 1952. Eritrea was supposed to enjoy autonomy within a federation, but disappointed by the lack of progress, the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), led by Hamid Idris Awate, launched an armed war for independence from Ethiopia.
The violent insurgency began on September 1, 1961, with the Battle of Adal, when Hamid Idris Awate and his colleagues fired the first bullets at the invading Ethiopian Army and police.
This marked the beginning of the Eritrean War for Independence, which would last until May 1991, when the Eritreans ousted the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Eritrea and assisted a coalition of Ethiopian rebel groups in seizing control of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.
