Fall of the Derg regime

Fall of the Derg

Part of the Ethiopian Civil War
A destroyed T-62 tank outside the Presidential Palace shortly after the fall of the Derg on 28 May 1991
Date	28 May 1991 (1991-05-28)
Location	Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Outcome	EPRDF victory The rebel coalition Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) took control of Addis Ababa The chairman of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) Mengistu Haile Mariam fled to Zimbabwe Arrest of other Derg officials EPRDF ordered 24-hour curfew[1]

The fall of the Derg, also known as Downfall of the Derg, was a military campaign that resulted in the defeat of the ruling Marxist–Leninist military junta, the Derg, by the rebel coalition Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) on 28 May 1991 in Addis Ababa, ending the Ethiopian Civil War. The Derg took power after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie and the Solomonic dynasty, an imperial dynasty of Ethiopia that began in 1270. The Derg suffered from insurgency with different factions, and separatist rebel groups since their early rule, beginning with the Ethiopian Civil War. The 1983–1985 famine, the Red Terror, and resettlement and villagization made the Derg unpopular with the majority of Ethiopians tending to support insurgent groups like the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF).

With the establishment of People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1987, the Derg government, led by Mengistu Haile Mariam, was subdued by rebel groups due to lack of support from the Soviet Union since 1990.