Sunday 17 December 2017

Isaias Afworki: Spy or a revolutionary


Isaias Afworki: Spy or a revolutionary


We have been trying for years to reach whether Isaias Afworki 1) was recruited by the CIA to join the ELF and help to dismantle it from within (‘Operation seed planting project’ as Wedi Giorgo referred to it; 2) Whether he was recruited by Asrate Medhin Kassa (Governor of Eritrea: 1964 - Dec 1970), on the behalf of Ethiopia for the same purpose, with the implicit role of the Mossad. Asrate Kassa was born in 1922 and died in 1974. Now there is new information that strengthens the possibility that he was a spy. One thing we know for sure. Tesfamichael Giorgo brought Isaias to Asmara and took him to Kagnew Station and he was imprisoned by the Ethiopians, for it. Asrate Kassa's son, Mulugeta, has confirmed recently that his father had links with Isias and that Isaias came to visit his father in early 1972. Dawit Woldeghiorgis also gives us insight into how and when he knew Tesfamichael Giogo and the training of the Ethiopian army by Israelis. 

Another recent confirmation (June 7, 2020) that Isaias Afworki worked for Asrate Kassa, who supplied his faction with arms. Listen from 08:50 – 16:00 minutes 

Captain Tesfaye Resteye, was a former Ethiopian police officer who served as an investigator in the security services in Asmara, Assab, and Tio in 1973 during the Haile Sellasie period. He also worked as the head of the foreign intelligence of the Ethiopian Security Services (ESS) upon return from a training course in Moscow, during the Derg period. The foreign intelligence then focussed on the Middle East and the follow-up of the Eritrean liberation movement. His last position during the Derg was the Head of the Legal Department of the ESS.

During his service in Eritrea, he was sent to investigate the army atrocities after a clash with the fighters in Baraasole in Dankalia. He narrates that he tried to calm the citizens. Tesfaye clarified his first interaction with Asrate Kassa.  When he was on his way to Assab, Asrate Kassa, who was the Governor on an army communications radio called him directly and asked him, for a briefing, At the end of their conversation, Asrate Kassa asked him to write 1000 bullets were fired. Still, Tesfaye declined to document the bullet numbers. He further stated the reason they were asking was to give the shots to the enemy to compensate for their loss.

Captian Tesfaye added, “Asrate Kassa wanted to give those bullets to the faction of Isayas Afworki.” Tesfaye added that Asrate Kassa realized that there were two factions, a Muslim and a Christian one, and he recruited Isaias to weaken the ELF, which he regarded as a Muslim movement. He adds that Asrate Kassa supplied arms to the Isaias faction and introduced Isaias Afworki to the Americans at Kangnew Station. He also stated during his investigation of fighters who were caught or defected, the defected said they joined the liberation movement to get 1500 Birr and a pistol.  Tesfaye added that Asrate Kassa used to give the defected fighters those benefits. He states that Asrate Kassa was working to depose Haile Sellasie and replace him with the Crown Prince.

He also narrates how the Derg was formed. Captain Tesfaye also explains how the Derg members were selected, the killing of the 60 high-ranking officers, and how Haile Sellasie was deposed and killed by giving him anesthesia and choking him to death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6joCaOJokzM&t=2917s


The full document, 'Isaias Spy or Revolutionary can be downloaded Herehttps://www.mediafire.com/file/hwsc7geqjc2o4io/Isaias_Afworki_Spy_or_Revolutionary.pdf/file


The following are the old and new facts:

إسياس ٱفورقي، جاسوس ٱو ثوري

نحن نحاول منذ سنوات للوصول إلى ما إذا كان إسياس أفوركي  تم تجنيده من قبل وكالة المخابرات المركزية للانضمام إلى جبهة التحرير الارترية والعمل على تفكيكها من الداخل ،'عملية زراعة البذوز' كما أشار إليها ودي جورجو و ما إذا كان قد تم تجنيده من قبل أسرىت  كاسا ــ حاكم إريتريا: ١٩٦٤ إلى  ديسمبر ١٩٧٠، نيابة عن إثيوبيا لنفس الغرض، مع الدور الضمني للموساد. إبن أسرتى كاسا المدعو ملوقيتا٬ والمقيم في لندن يؤكد ان والده كانت له علاقة بإسياس، بعلم الامبراطور وانه زاره في لندن ١٩٧٢ ـ  هناك معلومات الآن جديدة تعزز إمكانية أنه كان جاسوسا. شيء واحد نعرفه بالتأكيد، هو إن تيسفاميكئل جيورجو ٱحضر أسياس إلى أسمرة وٱخذه الي  قاعدت كاغنيوإستيشن الٱمريكية  و قد تم سجنه من قبل السلطات الإثيوبية، لذلك السبب. وكما ان داويت ولدقيوقيس يقدم معلومات عن دور المستشريين الأسرائليين في تدريب ليس فقط الجيش الاثيوبي، بل كيف حدث مرة ان تم إحضار مجموعات من الانيانيا الى آسمرة في سرية تامة وتم تدريبهم وإرسالهم للسودان

What PFDJ Ambassador Tweet 24 July, 2018 stating that Isaias struggled for this day since 1965, perhaps meaning to unite Eritrea and Ethiopia


Friday 15 December 2017

Ethiopia General Daniel Mengistu's claim that Isaias was their spy

General Daniel Mengistu who was the Foreign Affairs security chief of Ethiopia during Haile Sellasie has stated in an interview with an Ethiopian Newspaper, in 2000 has claimed that Isaias was an Ethiopian spy and on the payroll of Ethiopia.


Friday 8 December 2017

List of names of 19,098 mostly Eritreans who got medals for valour for service in the Italian army

 IL CORAGGIO   DEGLI ASCARI, THE COURAGE OF THE ASCARI, 2014:

List of names of 19,098 individuals mostly Eritreans who got medals for valour for service in the Italian army, by Vito Zita


እዚ መጽናዕቲ ብቅደም ተኸተል ዝርዝር አስማት እቶም ኣብ ትሕቲ መግዛእቲ ጣልያን ብውትድርና ዘገልገሉን ናይ ጅግንነት መዳልያ ዝተዓደሉን ኣስታት 19098 ሰባት የጠቃልል።


ﯾﺠﻤﻊ اﻟﺒﺤﺚ وﺑﺘﺴﻠﺴﻞ زﻣﻨﻲ –   أﺳﻤﺎء اﻟﺠﻨﻮد اﻟﺬﯾﻦ ﻗﺎﺗﻠﻮا ﺗﺤﺖ راﯾﺔ اﻟﺠﯿﺶ اﻹﯾﻄﺎﻟﻲ, واﻟﺬﯾﻦ منحو ﻣﯿﺪاﻟﯿﺎت  الشجاعة , وأﺳﺒﺎب ﺣﺼﻮﻟﮭﻢ على هذه الميداليات. وغالبيتهم من الإرتريين


Medals statistics - Gold medal for military merit: 9;  Silver medal for military merit: 2139; Bronze medal for military merit: 7185; War cross for military merit: 7560; Cross for the merit of war: 2085; Silver medal for civil merit: 6; Bronze medal for civil merit: 2; Solemn commendation: 112. Total: 19098.

Part I:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/z0qxkqhe1u741s1/Zita+book+I.pdf

Part II:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/6di4pdebqj64x1y/Zita+boo+2.pdf
---------

About the author:

VITO ZITA, the author of the book was born in 1960 in Barletta, Italy. He has lived in Siena since 1980 and has worked as a financial consultant, in financial planning and savings management. Since the end of the 1980s he has been involved in studies and research on the social and historical-military aspects of Italian colonial troops. He is a historical consultant for the colonial period at the International Museum of the World Wars, in Rocchetta Nuova IS, Italy. He is a member of the of a number of Associations including ANMIG and ANFI and ANRRA. In addition to several short essays, he published, "The courage of the Ascari - The motivations for the rewards for Military Valor for the war operations in Africa 1890-1943 assigned to the Ascari" (out of print, 2014); "The fallen of the Contrada della Chiocciola in the Great War" (out of print, 2016); "Gino Berardi, officer of colonial cavalry gold medal for Military Valor" edited by P. Angi, V. Zita, G. Zorzetto (2016); "The Colonial Cavalry from birth until 1936" (2016) also in an English version. He curated a permanent museum exhibition dedicated to the ascari at the Italian House of Asmara in November 2016. He is currently writing other works on the subject of colonial military history that will be published, soon. He is engaged in numerous conferences on the historical-military aspects, mainly colonial, which he is the  author or in collaboration with other colleagues.

Saturday 2 December 2017

UN Resolution federating Eritrea with Ethiopia 1950

Report of the United Nations Commission for Eritrea; Report of the Interim committee of the General Assembly of the Report of the United Nations Commission for Eritrea: 


Wednesday 29 November 2017

Old Italian videos on Eritrea starting from 1912


Old Italian videos on Eritrea from 1912


A 1912 video, on the life and times of the Eritrean Ascari:

https://www.europeana.eu/portal/it/record/08619/1037479000000254035.html?q=eritrea


1914 video: Arrival of Giovanni Cerrina Feroni, Italian Governor of Eritrea in Asmara and his visit to Keren:

http://cinestore.cinetecadibologna.it/video/dettaglio/43495

A 1929 video on sail boats from Assab, :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrXhzCX7IJU

On Dankalia 1936:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGt_sICw9II

On Dankalia, 1939:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5Ic47-H1w4

Pictures on the construction of the road between Asmara and Massawa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbXDChsqOBs

Friday 24 November 2017

Aklilu Habte Wold's memoirs, in Amharic 1974


Aklilu Habte Wold's memoirs, in Amharic, written to the Commission of Enquiry established by the Dergue in 1974. The book was fisrt published 2010, Pages 47 - 71 cover his struggle to unite Eritrea with Ethiopia: Aklilu has served Ethiopia in various position including Foreign Minister and Prime Minister.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/u8sqd3vaho1b3ru/Aklilu+Habte+wold+memories.pdf

Sunday 8 October 2017

Exchange of Notes between Great Britain and Ethiopia 1952


Exchange of Notes between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ethiopia regarding the Federation of Eritrea with Ethiopia under the sovereignty of the Ethiopian Crown Addis Ababa, August 27/29, 1952

http://treaties.fco.gov.uk/docs/pdf/1954/TS0022.pdf

L’IMMAGINE DELL’ERITREA NELLE FOTOGRAFIE DI ERRARDO DI AICHELBURG (1898-1903) CONOSCENZA E DOMINIO


L’IMMAGINE DELL’ERITREA NELLE FOTOGRAFIE DI ERRARDO DI AICHELBURG (1898-1903) CONOSCENZA E DOMINIO

THE IMAGE OF ERITREA IN ACHELBURG ERRARDO PHOTOGRAPHS (1898-1903) KNOWLEDGE AND DOMAIN

http://www.mediafire.com/file/6l28gza3a8b2yge/L%E2%80%99IMMAGINE+DELL%E2%80%99ERITREA+NELLE+FOTOGRAFIE+DI.pdf

Wednesday 4 October 2017

Wednesday 30 August 2017

ሓምሸይቲ ወተሃደራዊ ክፍሊ ተሓኤ The 5th Military Zone of the ELF


ሓምሸይቲ ወተሃደራዊ ክፍሊ ተሓኤ: አቓቅማ ሽግራትን ምስላማትን ምቅተልትን ሳዕቤትን


http://www.mediafire.com/file/h2o07hj8m4m9f3f/Hamshaiti+Kifli_ELF+5th+Zone.pdf

ምንጪ : ካብ ኣብዚ ቀረባ ዝወጸ መጽናዕታዊ ጽሑፍ

Friday 18 August 2017

Monday 14 August 2017

الإلمام بٱخبار من بٱرض الحبشة من ملوك الإسلام


الإلمام بٱخبار من بٱرض الحبشة من ملوك الإسلام

بقلم تقى الدين أحمد بن على بن عبد القادر بن محمد المقريزي
توفى المغريزي في ٨٤٥ه الموافق ١٤٤٦
http://www.mediafire.com/file/c7z8ig9fgmmzszo/Magrizi+Habesha.pdf

Taqi al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn 'Ali ibn 'Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhammad al-Maqrizi (1364–1446) was an Egyptian historian more commonly known as al-Maqrizi or Makrizi. This is one of his books, on Muslim kings in Abyssinia 

Sunday 6 August 2017

The Kunama and their marriage customs


Kunama marriage customs, a note written in 1966/67 by M. Cittadini, H. S. I. University, Addis Ababa

http://www.mediafire.com/file/bpyfadaw3ovntcj/Kunama+marriage+customs+1966.pdf

Thanks to Prof. Kjetil Tronvoll for sharing

Sunday 30 July 2017

ሓጺር ታሪኽ ሓምድ እድሪስ ዓዋተ A note on Awate in Tigrinya


ሓጺር ታሪኽ ሓምድ እድሪስ ዓዋተ
Picture: Almseged's latest book, 'From Federation to Revolution 1956 - 1962' in Tigrinya
The picture was taken on 31 July, 1951



http://www.mediafire.com/file/a8xbgmpxaavkwu9/Hamid+Awate_Tigrinya+Part+I.pdf

ከምዛ ዕለት እዚኣ ቅድሚ 66 ዓመት፤ 31 July 1951 ሓምድ እድሪስ ዓዋተ ንምምሕዳር መንግስቲ እንግሊዝ ተቀቢሉ ኣብ ሰላማዊ ህይወት እተመልሰላ ዕለት። አብቲ ኣንጻር መንግስቲ እንግሊዝ ኣዲምሉ ዝነበረ ጊዜ ካብ ወልቃይት ከይተረፉ ሰዓብቲ ነይሮሞ።
በዚ መኽንያት ይኸዉን፣ አብ ኤርትራ ብረታዊ ቃልሲ ምስ ጀመረ፤ በዚ ተደሪኾም ትግራዎት በረታዊ ቃልሲ ምጅማር ኣብ ዝሓስቡሉ ዝነበሩ ሓደ ካብ መስረቲ ወያነ ፣ ስሑል ኣብ ኤርትራ መጺኡ ዓዋተ ረኺብዎ ከም ዝነበረ ኣረጋዊ በርሄ ይገልጽ። ኣብቲ ኣብ አርብዓታት ዝነበረ ሓድሕድ ውግአ ብሓደ ወገን ኣብ መንጎ ኩናማን ኣብ መንጎ በኒዓምርን ናራን ብቲ ኻልእ ወገን ድማ ኣብ መንጎ በኒዓምርን ሃደንደዋን ሸፋቱ ረሻይዳን ሓምድ ኣብ ጎኒ በኒዓምርን ናራን ነይሩ። እት ናይ ሓድሕድ ውግአ ኣብ  1945 ብሰላም ዓርፉ።

66 years ago, this day on 31 July 1951, Hamid Idris Awate, agreed to end his opposition to the British Military Administration (BMA) and return to civilian life. The British had regarded Awate as an outlaw and thus regarded him as Shifta. Awate agreed to return to normal life after long indirect and direct talks with the then  Commissioner of the Police of Eritrea, Colonel David P.P. Cracknell.

حدث في مثل هذا اليوم، قبل 66 عاما، يوم 31 يوليو 1951،وافق حامد إدريس عواتي،  على إنهاء معارضته للإدارة العسكرية البريطانية والعودة إلى الحياة المدنية. وكان البريطانيون يعتبرون عواتي من الخارجين عن القانون ومن ثم يعتبرونه من الشيفتا. وافق عواتي على العودة الى الحياة الطبيعية بعد محادثات غير مباشرة ومباشرة طويلة مع مفوض شرطة اريتريا آنذاك الكولونيل ديفيد ب. كراكنل

Wednesday 26 July 2017

The Seen, the Unseen, the Invented Misrepresentations in the Making of a Colony. Eritrea


The Seen, the Unseen, the Invented Misrepresentations of African “Otherness” in the Making of a Colony. Eritrea, 1885-1896 by Silvana Palma

This essay analyses the photos of Eritreans taken by professional photographers at the beginning of Italian presence in Africa—particularly from the first Italian landing in Africa in 1885 up to the “reconquest” of Saati in 1881, after the Italian military defeat at Dogali—in order to identify their language and the extent to which they were functional to colonial rule. The photographic image is considered here as a primary element of a specific historical and cultural moment in view of the fact that it had a growing diffusion as a means of communication at the time of the “first Italian African war”, when it was already becoming a “mass” medium. The growth of the photographic market in the last twenty years of the 19th century coincided with Italy’s participation in the scramble for Africa and with the growth of the information industry, in which a very prominent role was played by the illustrated press2 which made use of photographs, particularly those taken by commercial photographers, as the preferential means of spreading Italian “knowledge” concerning Africa and its peoples.

http://modaina.com/PDF/the_making_of_a_colony_eritrea.pdf

Sunday 16 July 2017

Debtera Fesseha Giyorgis, from Yeha in Tigray, about his voyage to Italy in the summer of 1890


This is the translation of a travelogue written in Tigrinya by Debtera Fesseha Giyorgis, from Yeha in Tigray, about his voyage from Massawa to Italy in the summer of 1890. This is regarded as the first secular text published in the Tigrinya language. It was published in Rome in 1895.

According to the article, Dàbtàra Fesseha Giyorgis can be regarded as the father of Tigrinya literature. He authored at least five Tigrinya texts, of which two were published in Rome in 1895 and 1898. His manuscript “A History of Ethiopia” was published in Naples in 1897
_____________



https://ilpaesedelleterredoltremare.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/authors-journey.pdf

Sunday 2 July 2017

Colonial Inertia and Postcolonial Capital in Asmara

Italy's Colonial Futures: Colonial Inertia and Postcolonial Capital in Asmara, a 2011 article by Mia Fuller

Abstract: The core of Asmara, Italy’s former colonial capital in Eritrea, is widely known as a unique repository of 1930s Italian architecture. In addition, its Italian food and other traces of the colonial era lend it the semblance, to foreign eyes, of a still-colonial city. This article describes this apparent colonial inertia with respect to Eritrean citizens’ and government’s interests in sustaining the illusion, and argues that they use their past as Italian colonial subjects – specifically, their postcolonial cultural capital - to fortify their sense of separateness from Ethiopians, and celebrate their independence from their African neighbor.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/5x3sou3nsqhprwm/Colonial+inertia+and+post+colonial+capital+Asmara.pdf

Friday 30 June 2017

A confidential letter written to Haile Sellasie by a senior Ethiopian army official in 1974



A confidential letter written to Haile Sellasie by a senior Ethiopian army official, Let. General Kebede Gebre in 1974 explaining among other things that that Ethiopian army was losing the fight in Eritrea. Let. General Kebede Gebre, who occupied among other positions the Commander-in-Chief of the UN Forces in the Congo from 1960 – 1964. He was among the 60 senior officials killed by the Dergue on 23rd November 1974. He refers to his verbal note given to Haile Sellasie and Aklilu Habtewold in 1974 (1966 E.C). He stated in his letter that the Ethiopian army has sustained big losses in its war in Eritrea and advises the Emperor to reinstate the Federation between Eritrea and Ethiopia


ሓደ ፍሉጥ ኢትዩጵያዊ ጀነራል ከበደ ገብሬ ናብ ንጉስ ሃይለስላስየ  1974 ዝተጻሕፈት ምስጢራዊት ደብዳቤ ሰራዊት ኢትዩጵያ ኣብ ኤርትራ ቡዙሕ ኪሳራ ይወርዶ ሰለ ዘሎ ፈደረሽን ክምለስ ትሓትት

رسالة سرية مكتوبة إلى الامبراطور هايلي سيلاسي من قبل مسؤول كبير في الجيش الإثيوبي، يدعى الجنرال كبدى قبرى في عام 1974، موضحا من بين أمور أخرى أن الجيش الإثيوبي يفقد المعركة في إريتريا، ويقترح فيها إعادة الفيدرالية

http://www.mediafire.com/file/tcytcl2qa9tskbm/G+Kebede+Gebre+note.pdf

Thanks to Jelal Yassin for sharing

Monday 26 June 2017

Tuesday 20 June 2017

The Eritrean Peoples' Peaceful Struggle in 1950s

The Eritrean Peoples' Peaceful Struggle in 1950s

The Eritrean people resorted to armed struggle, not by choice, but after exhausting all possible peaceful protests. This ELF document lists the names of persons who wrote protest messages to the UN and the Emperor complaining that the Ethiopian Government was undermining the Federal Arrangement between Eritrea and Ethiopia

 لجأ الشعب الإريتري إلى الكفاح المسلح، ليس عن طريق الاختيار، ولكن بعد استنفاد جميع الاحتجاجات السلمية الممكنة. تسرد هذه الوثيقة أسماء الأشخاص الذين كتبوا رسائل احتجاجية إلى الأمم المتحدة واشتكوالى الإمبراطور من أن الحكومة الإثيوبية تقوض الترتيب الاتحادي بين إريتريا وإثيوبيا



http://www.mediafire.com/file/vk2zfwbsyr02jjk/ELF_peaceful+struggle.pdf

Sunday 18 June 2017

EPRP's Evaluation of the TPLF 1980

EPRP's Evaluation of the TPLF 1980

In the mid seventies, while the ELF and EPLF competed in Eritrea for space, influence and power; the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Party (EPRP), TLF (Tigray Liberation Front), Ethiopian Democratic Union (EDU) and TPLF did the same in Tigray. This is how the EPRP evaluated the TPLF

http://www.mediafire.com/file/sluuy42lqmaofft/EPRP+evaluation+of+the+TPLF+1980.pdf

Thanks to Prof. Kjetil Tronvoll for sharing

More on EPRP:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_People%27s_Revolutionary_Party

Friday 16 June 2017

Press Conference by the Secretary General of the Provisional Government of Eritrea, 1991


Press Conference by the Secretary General of the Provisional Government of Eritrea, 1991:
- On economic policies
- On development of Communications
- On repatriation of of Ethiopian Prisoners of war
- If there were 'Amhara civilians expelled
- If political parties will be allowed before the referendum
- You referred to enemies in your September 1st, could you tell us on those enemies and he replies they are the French, Egyptians and Saudis
- On role of NGOs
- On involvement of ELF in the Government
- On option of association with Ethiopia
- On the size of the army

http://www.mediafire.com/file/6am3h1sc5tiizii/Press+conference+PG+sept+91.pdf
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Thanks to Prof. Kjetil Tronvoll for sharing

Saturday 10 June 2017

1967: The circumstances under which ELF fighters started to surrender to Ethiopia in groups

1967: The circumstances under which ELF fighters started to surrender to Ethiopia in groups 


1967: الظروف التي بدأ فيها مقاتلو الجبهة في الاستسلام لأثيوبيا في مجموعات

وكان من بينهم هيلى ولد تنسائ دروع  وموسي تيسفاميكائل 

The Arabic version: http://www.mediafire.com/file/w2i7v7p51241gra/ELF+fighters+surrender+1967.pdf

المصدر: كتاب عثمان دندن، معركة آرتريا
شكرا لمحمود لوبينت لتوفيره الكتاب


Picture of the 19 fighters that surrendered to Ethiopia on 28/08/1967, among whom were 
  Musie Tefamichael (11) and Haile Durue (14 )

With the increased operations of the ELF and expanding those operations to the highlands, the Ethiopian Government took several measures to try to wipe out the ELF. In February 1967, the Ethiopian Government, under Asrate Kassa, employing the regular army and the Israeli trained Commandos, waged a scorched earth policy in the Lowlands and the Muslim villages in the highlands. More than 69 villages were burned and hundreds of civilians killed were killed and about 30,000 Eritreans took refuge in the Sudan. Large numbers of livestock were bombed, wells were poisoned.

 In June 6 , 1967 (the start of the 6th Days Arab-Israeli war) Asrate Kassa issued an amnesty, to the ELF fighters which were referred to as Shifta, written in both Tigrinya and Arabic, and widely circulated to surrunder themselves and arms to the Ethiopian Government. The Amnesty was to last until 23 July the same year. Wide meetings were held in the highlands and people were encouraged to form militias against the ELF. The ELF was portrayed as Muslim and Arab. They also waged a diplomatic effort to isolate the ELF in Sudan. Asrate Kassa even formed a ‘peace Committee’ to negotiate with the rebels on their surrender. They even sent agents to the ELF who would later surrender with their weapons and were rewarded for that. During those trying times every fighter and every rifle was very important to the ELF. The main target of all those attempts were Christian highlanders.

That year the ELF was in a political and economic crisis, it had not enough arms. it was unable to defend the people. There was also a leadership crisis, there was no clear political program, the leadership was previously based outside Eritrea and were not able to manage the secondary contradictions that arose among various competing factions. Between those who wanted to reform the movement and those who wanted to maintain the status coup. The ELF then was predominantly lowland, thus the majority of whom were Muslims. Most of the contradictions was among them, thus it was never Muslim-Christian. It must have been more difficult for the few Christians highlanders who joined the ELF, under such circumstances.

Under those conditions, Isaias Afworki and his colleagues had formed a small cell in Asmara with the aim of joining the ELF as a clandestine organization and those in the leadership were Isaias, Haile Derue and Tesfai Gebre Sellasie. As we knew later, when Isaias split from the ELF in 1968, according to Tesfamichael Giorgo he had contacts with the Kagnew Station and Asrate Kassa who supplied the Isaias group with Arms. Testimonies given by Ethiopian General, Daniel Mengistu, who was Haile Sellasie’s foreign security chief, indicated in 2000 that Isaias was in the payroll of the Ethiopian Security services. Asrate Kassa’s son, who lives in London, recalled (personal communication) that Isaias and Hurui were among the visitors who came to see his father, Asrate Kassa, when he was in White Chapel Hospital , there. All those issues, may indicate that Isaias aim from the outset was to dismantle the ELF and how his close colleagues like Haile Derue, believed in him to the last.

Haile Durue narrated in detail in his conversations with Dan Connell, see the link below, how the group felt disappointed by the ELF and how he later recruited Musie Tesfamichael to the group. He also discussed how they decided to work clandestinely in the ELF, that they discouraged highlanders to join the ELF, until they establish their own organization. They also encouraged those who were in the ELF to leave it and pursue their studies, until further notice. Derue also stated that he was opposed to the leader of the 5th military region established in October 1966. He actually indicated he exploited the contradictions between the Revolutionary leadership in Kassala and the 5th Military Zone, to the advantage of their group. Derue also stated he was against all Christians being in one Zone (5th zone), but later they established ‘Selfi Nasent’ with Isaias whose members were solely Christian highlanders at the beginning. It was under those circumstances that some Christian highlanders started to surrender to Ethiopia in big groups.

On 29/8/1967, The Tigrinya and Arabic newspapers, ‘Hiberet and ‘Al Wihda’ published that 19 ELF fighters have surrendered to Ethiopia making advantage of the amnesty given by the Government. It was stated that most of them were students who were cheated by the ELF propaganda. They surrendered to the Ethiopian Consul in Kassala and were later transferred to Ethiopia and they were:
1 Abraha Habteley, 24 years joined the ELF 4 years ago, was 9th grade in Keren
2  Negussie Hizbay 22 years, spent 2 ½ years, student at Teachers Training Institute (TTI), Asmara
3  Woldai Tefai Yohannes, 22 years, spent 14 months
4 Yemane Tesfay, 20 years, spent 1 year, merchant
5 Andeberhan Andemariam, 23 years, spent 2 years
6 Yohannes Liban, 24 years, 2 ½ years
7 Zere Senai Tekle, 22 years, spent 13 months, 12th grade student at General Wingate
8 Haile Woldemichael, 25 years, spent 1 year, was 11th year student at Prince Mekonen Secondary School in Asmara (PMSC)
9 Tesfay Asfaha, 25 years, spent 5 months, 9th grade PMSC
10 Debessay Asfaha, 26 years, spent 3 months, student PMSC
11 Musie Tesfamichael, 20 years spent 7 months and was 2nd year at Haile Sellasie University in Addis Ababa (HSIU)
  2 Habtu Tecle, 19 years, student at 12th grade at PMSC
13 Solomon Gebrehiwet, two years, was a farmer
14 Haile Wolde Tensae, 21 years, spent 7 months, was Student at HSIU
15 Yihdego Berhe, 19 years, spent 2 months, student at Hibret School in Asmara
16 Yohannes Mebrahtu, 21 years, 18 months, was 1st year student at HSIU
17 Teklemariam Gebreyesus, 18 years, spent about a year, was student at TTI
18 Wolde Araya, 19 years, spent 19 months, was student at TTI
19 Zeray Tikabo, student at PMSC

The arms surrendered included, A mortar, 2 Bazooka, 3 machine guns, 15 thousand ammunition for machine guns, One binocular for a Bazooka and one binocular for Mortar

In another development, the Arabic Ethiopian Weekly, ‘Al Alem’ published on November 8, 1967 that Woldai Kahsai (who was the leader of the 5th Military Zone of the ELF) and 19 of his follwers arrived from Khartoum by air. Directly upon their arrival, they met with Tesfayohannes Berhe , the Deputy of Asrate Kassa. The meeting was also attended by other Government officials: Ali Radaai, Hamid Ferej, Haregot Abbay, Gebre Yohannes Tesfamariam, General Teshome Ergetu, Zere Mariam Azazi and others.


In yet another development, 3 of the 2nd batch of the 21 military trainees in China, upon completion of the training in mid August 1968, refused to return to Eritrea and travelled to Damascus instead. Those were Germichael Woldegebriel, Tesfay Gebremariam and Berekhet Iyob. They letters to Osman Saleh Sabbe that they feared for their safety if they returned to Eritrea. But among the trainees were Mesfin Hagos Bidu, Arefaine Sebhat and Fesseha Abraha Fikak who returned to the field with the others.

Source of the names: Osman Denden Book, 'Maareket Eritrea', in Arabic,
------------------------------------------------
Conversation of Haile Durue with Dan Connell, 2000:

Sunday 4 June 2017

محضر الاجتماع المشترك الثاني لقادة المناطق العسكرية والقيادة الثورية لجبهة التحريرالارترية ٩ اكتوبر ١٩٦٦ ELF minutes 9th October 1966

The detailed minutes of the second joint meeting of the leaders of the various military regions, the Revolutionary leadership and members of the Supreme Council of the ELF 09 - 12.10.1966

ዝርዝር መዝገብ አኼባ እቲ ኣብ ከሰላ ካብ ዕለት 9-12/10/1966 ኣብ መንጎ ላዕለዋይ ባይቶን ሰውራዊ መሪሕነትን መራሕቲ ክፍልታትን ዝተኻየደ ካልኣይ አኼባ ኢዩ።

ኣጀንዳ አኼባ

-       አብ ውሽጥን ወጻእን ዘሎ ሐፈሻዊ ፖሎቲካዊ ኩነታት
-       ሰውራዊ መሪሕነት ብኡኡ ኣቢሉ ላዕለዋይ ባይቶ ንሰውራ ኤርትራ ዘመሓድረሉ ኣካል ኢዩ
-       አብ ወታሃደራዊ ክፍልታትን ክፍሊ ታዕሊምን ዘጋጥሙ ሓፈሻዊ ሽግራት ፡ ወታሀደራዊ ቀቢላዊ ሀይማኖታዊ  ሕጋዊ ፊናንስያዊ
-       አብ መጻኢ ውተሃደርራዊ ስርሒታት አብ ፍዳኢይን አብ ከተማታት ከተኩርን ኢትዮጵያ ኣብ ነፈርቲ ምጥቃማ ምዝታይን
-       ክፍልታት ክጥቆዖኦ ዘለወን እስትራተጃዊ ዝኾነ ቦታታት ምጽናዕ
-       አገባብ ርክብ መሪሕነትን ክፍልታትን ምዝታይ
-       ምውዳብ ተሳትፎ ህዝቢ አብ ዉሽጥን ርክቦም ምስ ክፍልታት
-       ናይ ፖሎቲካዊ ኮሚሸነር ርክብ ምስቶ ካልኦት ሓለፍቲ ክፍሊ ምንጻር
-       ገሌ ሓለፍቲ ክፍልታት ምፍራስ ክፍልታትን ብሓባር ኮንካ ን ከበሳ ምስጏም ዘቅረብዎ ጠለብ

ኣብዚ ጉብኤ ብወገን ላዕለዎይ ባይቶ እድሪስ ዑስማን ገላውዴዎስን እቶም ጸኒሖም ኣባላት ላዕለዎይ ባይቶ ዝኾኑ ጣሃ ሙሓመድ ኑርን ሳይድ ኣሕመድ ሙሓመድ ሃሽምን ተስቲፎም። ኩሎም ኣባላት ሰውራዊ መሪሕነት 1.. ሙሓመድ ስዓድ ኣደም ኣቦ መንበር ሰውራዊ መሪሕነት 2. ሙሓመድ እስማዒል ዓብዱ ጻሓፊ ሰውራዊ መሪሕነት 3. ጃዕፈር ሙሓመድ ተስፋ ተድሮስ ሓላፊ ስንቂን ዕጥቂን 4. ዑመር ኣልሓጅ እድሪስ ሓላፊ ፋይናንስ 5. ኣዜን ያሲን ሼኽ ኣዲን ሓላፊ ዜና (ዓረብ) 6. ኣሕመድ ሙሓመድ ዓሊ ዒሳ ሓላፊ ሰለያ 7. ወልዳይ ግደ ሓላፊ ዜና (ትግርኛ) 8. ማሕሙድ ሙሓመድ ሳልሕ ሓላፊ ስርዓታዊ ጉዳይ 9. ዓብዱ ዑስማን ሓላፊ ጥዕና 10. ሳልሕ ሕዱግ ሓላፊ ሓፈሻዊ ጉዳይ 11. ሳልሕ ኣሕመድ ኣያይ ሓላፊ ጨንፈር መሪሕነት ኣብ ፖርት ሱዳን። ተሳቲፎም ካብ መራሕቲ ክፍልታት፣ 1. ማሕሙድ ዲናይ መራሒ ቐዳመይቲ ክፍሊ 2. ዑመር ሓምድ እዛዝ መራሒ ካልኣይቲ ክፍሊ 3. ሓምድ ሳልሕ ምክትል መራሒ ሳልሰይቲ ክፍሊ 4. ዓሊ ማዕቱቅ ምክትል መራሒ ራብዓይቲ ክፍሊ ተስቲፎም።
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ካብ  ብዑስማን ሳልሕ ደንደን ብዓረብ ዝተደርሰኵናት ኤርትራ






http://www.mediafire.com/file/gzc3s9ckqu04nxv/ELF+minutes+66+C.pdf

http://www.mediafire.com/file/gksy19xpf611vbv/ELF+First+joint+meetings+65.pdf

المصدر: كتاب عثمان دندن، معركة آرتريا

شكرا لمحمود لوبينت لتوفيره الكتاب


The ELF Regional Military Structure 1965/1966 الهيكل العسكري للجبهة


الهيكل العسكري للجبهة 1965/1966

وفي 20  يوليو 1965، قرر المجلس الأعلى للجبهة في جلسته المعقودة في الفترة من 8 إلى 20 يوليو إنشاء 4 مناطق عسكرية، وتسمية المسؤولين عن تلك المناطق. ودخل القرار حيز التنفيذ في 28 يوليو 1965. تأسست المنطقة الخامسة في 20/10/1966




The ELF Regional Military Structure 1965/1966

On 20 July 1965, the ELF Supreme Council decided in its session held 8 - 20 July to establish 4 military zones and named those responsible for the zones. The decision came into effect on the 28th July 1965. The 5th Zone was established on 20/10/ 1966


http://www.mediafire.com/file/pfd20egxooo326a/ELF+regional+military+leaders.pdf
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المصدر: كتاب عثمان دندن، معركة آرتريا

شكرا لمحمود لوبينت لتوفيره الكتاب