logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2020
11m 6s

How Ethiopian rebels took power in 1991

Bbc World Service
About this episode

In May 1991, the brutal Ethiopian dictator, Colonel Mengistu and his miltary regime were on the verge of collapse after years of civil war. The end came when a Tigrayan-led rebel movement advanced on the capital Addis Ababa and took power. They would rule for Ethiopia for decades. In 2014, we spoke to an American diplomat who witnessed the end of Ethiopia's civil war. Photo: EPRDF rebels in Addis Ababa, 28 May, 1991.

Photo: Rebels in Addis Ababa (BBC)

Up next
Apr 2025
The Cu Chi tunnels of the Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese VietCong guerrillas built a vast network of tunnels in the south of the country as part of the insurgency against the South Vietnamese government and their American allies. The tunnel network was a key base and shelter for the North Vietna ... Show More
9m 43s
Today
Ravi and George
<p>Following the Beatles' final concert tour, George Harrison travelled to India in 1967 to learn sitar under the renowned musician Ravi Shankar. Fleeing Beatlemania he travelled in disguise to Mumbai and then to Srinagar in Kashmir. Listening to BBC archive and using excerpt ... Show More
10m 32s
Yesterday
India goes to the UN
<p>In 1946, an Indian woman made history by leading her country’s first delegation to the United Nations.</p><p>Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit described it as a moment that reshaped her life.</p><p>As the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, she was already in the pub ... Show More
10m 33s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2020
The fall of Addis Ababa
<p>In May 1991, the brutal Ethiopian dictator, Colonel Mengistu and his military regime were on the verge of collapse after years of civil war. The end came when a Tigrayan-led rebel movement advanced on the capital Addis Ababa and took power. We get a first-hand account from an ... Show More
51m 30s
Apr 2022
Can a “Humanitarian Truce” Help End Ethiopia’s Civil War?
<p>After almost seventeen months of devastating civil war in Ethiopia, the federal government on 24 March announced what it called a humanitarian truce. The offer would ostensibly allow aid into Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, which has, in effect, been under a blockade for mo ... Show More
1h 8m
Nov 2022
Ethiopia’s Tigray War: After the Cessation of Hostilities, What Next?
<p>On 2 November, the Ethiopian federal government and Tigrayan forces reached an agreement to cease hostilities and end almost two years of bloody war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. The truce came after the Ethiopian army, together with Eritrean troops and forces from the ... Show More
57m 57s
Mar 2021
Why are Eritrean troops in Ethiopia?
It’s been a war of narratives.Conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region has been going on for months now - and troops from neighbouring Eritrea have been accused of joining the fight.And that’s not the end of the story.The UN and human rights groups have also blamed them for some of t ... Show More
11m 47s
Nov 2021
Can Ethiopia's Tigray crisis be mediated?
International diplomatic efforts are underway to try to end the year-long conflict in Ethiopia. As Tigrayan rebels advance on the capital Addis Ababa, many fear the country could descend into a wider civil war. So who, if anyone, can mediate the crisis? Join host Sami Zeidan. Wit ... Show More
20m 31s
Oct 2021
Crisis In Ethiopia: Breaking Through the Propaganda, w/ Eugene Puryear
<p><b>The U.S. and EU have accused Ethiopia of every atrocity imaginable and now they’re preparing sanctions. The Ethiopian government insists that it’s legitimately fighting a separatist group, the formerly ruling TPLF, which is attempting to regain power through violence and te ... Show More
1h 59m