Beginning of the Armed Struggle
1 Sep, 1961
Hamid Idris Awate led the first attack on Ethiopian posts heralding the beginning of the armed resistance for Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia
Hamid Idris Awate started the armed resistance for Eritrean independence against the Ethiopian government
On September 1, 1961, eleven rebels led by Hamid Idris Awate attacked police posts in the west of Eritrea including one on Mount Adal. A fierce battle ensued between Awate’s Eritrean Liberation Army, a military wing of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) and Ethiopian forces, lasting seven hours and ending in a stalemate. This marked the beginning of the Eritrean armed struggle for independence from Ethiopia.
Younger Hamid Idris Awate in the 1940s