ChronoFive
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Setting the scene
Eritrea's EPLF fighters had battled Ethiopian rule since the 1960s, surviving sieges and Soviet-backed offensives; the fall of Mengistu Haile Mariam's Derg in 1991 opened negotiations for Eritrean self-determination under leader Isaias Afwerki.
What happened
Eritrea became independent on May 24, 1993, after a UN-supervised referendum in which voters overwhelmingly chose sovereignty, ending federation with Ethiopia that Haile Selassie had imposed in 1962.
Why it still matters
The Red Sea nation had fought a long liberation struggle whose veterans dominated the new state; border war with Ethiopia in 1998–2000 and ongoing authoritarian governance tempered early hopes for a multi-party Horn of Africa model.
Background
The Red Sea nation had fought a long liberation struggle.