Armed Forces of Eritrea

Military parade

The Eritrean Defense Forces (Engl. Eritrean Defense Forces , Tig . ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ኤርትራ ; arab القوات الدفا الإرتري.) Are in 1991 from the Eritrean People's Liberation Front emerged (EPLF), which for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia fought.

history

The Eritrean People's Liberation Front split off in 1970 as a Christian-dominated wing from the Muslim / Christian-dominated Eritrean Liberation Front (both groups were officially Marxist-oriented). From 1972 to 1974 the two organizations were in a state similar to civil war. After the EPLF withdrew to the Sahel region in 1978 , the resurgent conflict between the two groups led the ELF to withdraw to the neighboring Sudanese country. In 1988 the EPLF began its offensive south. With the help of the Ethiopian opposition and the People's Liberation Front of Tigray (TPLF; today's government in Ethiopia), some important victories over the Ethiopian military were celebrated in early 1991 . On May 24, 1991 the EPLF took Eritrea's capital Asmara , militarily ending the War of Independence.

Among other things, due to the decades-long war of independence against Ethiopia, the independence of Eritrea is strongly emphasized, which is sometimes referred to as isolationism . Accordingly, the military plays a major role in Eritrea. There were several border conflicts in the country's young history, in particular the renewed war against Ethiopia in 1998–2000. In mid-2008, there were multiple clashes between Djiboutian troops and Eritrean troops in a disputed border area around Ras Doumeira . The US and the United Nations Security Council accused Eritrea of ​​military aggression against Djibouti .

organization

There is general conscription for men and women. The 12th (final) school year is to be completed in Sawa , the military basic training center. Female conscripts experience widespread sexual violence on the threat of denial of vacation, sexual slavery, and service on the war front. "Pregnant women were sent home".

The commander in chief of the armed forces is the President of Eritrea. They are divided into army , navy and air force . The military expenditure currently amount to 6.3 percent of government spending. According to older information, the armed forces have around 45,000 soldiers with around 250,000 reservists. Unconfirmed reports now speak of a workforce of between 250,000 and 300,000.

army

Ahmed Umer Kakay is the commander of the Eritrean Army established in 1991 . The headquarters are in Asmara .

The army has the following heavy equipment:

Surname	Type	number	origin	Remarks
T-55A	Main battle tank	300	Bulgaria	120 T-55A were delivered from Bulgaria in 2005.
BMP-1	Armored personnel carriers	50	Soviet Union / Ethiopia	Source probably Ethiopia.
BTR-60PB	Armored personnel carrier	100	Soviet Union
MT-LB	Armored personnel carrier	10	Bulgaria	Delivered from Bulgaria in 2005.
2S1 Gvozdika	Self-propelled howitzer	20th	Bulgaria	Delivered from Bulgaria in 2005.
BM-21 degrees	Rocket launcher	25th	Soviet Union
BM-27 Uragan	Rocket launcher	9	Belarus	Delivered from Belarus in 2007.
130 mm M-46 cannon	towed howitzer	30th	Bulgaria	Delivered from Bulgaria in 1999.
ZSU-23-4 "Schilka"	Flak tanks	9	Soviet Union
57 mm AZP S-60	Anti-aircraft gun	12	Soviet Union
9K38 Igla	shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft weapon	50	Russia

air force

Roundel of the Eritrean Air Force

Mil Mi-171

The Eritrean Air Force (ERAF) was established in 1994. During the Eritrea-Ethiopia War , the ERAF was upgraded with modern combat aircraft. Major General Teklai Habteselassie is the commanding officer of the Eritrean Air Force . The headquarters are in Asmara .

ERAF has the following aircraft:

Aircraft	origin	Type	version	In service	Remarks
Aermacchi M-290 RediGO	Italy	Trainer	L-90TP	8th
Aermacchi MB-339	Italy	Trainer	MB-339CE	5
Harbin Y-12	People's Republic of China	Transport plane	Y-12	4th
Beechcraft King Air	United States	Transport plane	B-200	6th
Sukhoi Su-27	Russia	Multipurpose fighter	Su-27S Su-27UB	2
MiG-29	Russia	Multipurpose fighter	MiG-29A MiG-29UB	4th
Agusta-Bell AB 412	Italy	Multipurpose helicopter	AB-412	3
Mil Wed-8	Russia	Transport helicopter	Wed-8MT	7th
Mil Wed-24	Russia	Attack helicopter	Mi-24P	4th

marine

The navy was created in 1991 from forces of the liberation movement EPLF and the remnants of the Ethiopian navy. Commander is Major General hummed Ahmed Karikare. The headquarters are in Massaua .

She has the following ships:

• Israeli Super Dvora class patrol boats : 6
• Missile speedboats the Osa class : 5
• Other patrol boats: 7
• Ex- NVA LCU : 1
• T-4 class (LCU): 2nd
• EDIC class (Landing craft tank): 1

See also

• List of armed forces

Web links

Commons : Eritrean Armed Forces  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dānʼél Taxlu Radā: Mega English-Tigrigna dictionary = ሜጋመዝገበ-ቃላትእንግሊዝኛ-ትግርኛ . OCLC 925356389 .
2. ↑ BBC News: France backing Djibouti in 'war'
3. ↑ TAZ.de of May 24, 2013: 20 years of Eritrea - Kalashnikovs on walking sticks
4. ↑ Swiss Refugee Aid: Eritrea: Military Service and Desertion
5. ^ The World Factbook
6. ↑ Tom Killion: Historical Dictionary of Eritrea . The Scarecrow Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8108-3437-5 .
7. ↑ Asmara's Finest . Retrieved September 4, 2006.
8. ↑ togoruba.org . Retrieved February 25, 2016.
9. ^ Military balance 2004-2005
10. ↑ SIPRI Arms Transfers Database . Retrieved October 27, 2014.
11. ↑ Deagel article on T-54/55
12. ↑ tanknutdave.com: The russian BMP-1
13. ↑ BTR-60 . Army Guide. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
14. ↑ Deagel article on MT-LB
15. ↑ Deagel article on 2S1
16. ^ Analysis: Arms pour in for border war . In: BBC News , March 2, 1999. 
17. ↑ Deagel article on BM-27
18. ↑ Deagel article on M-46
19. ↑ ^{a b} issafrica.org ( Memento of the original from May 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
20. ↑ FlightGlobal World Air Forces 2014