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The week that marked the beginning of the end of Ethiopian presence in Eritrea


The 1990 Battle of Massawa, known as Operation Fenkil, took place from February 8–10, 1990

Key Details of the 1990 Operation:

Duration: The main battle lasted three days, from February 8 to 10, 1990.

Combatants: The EPLF launched a surprise attack against the Ethiopian Army.

Significance: This victory (Operation Fenkil) was a major turning point in the Eritrean War of Independence, leading to the eventual liberation of the area.

Aftermath: The Ethiopian military launched intense bombing campaigns on the city, beginning around February 16, 1990

ሊደገም ትንሽ ነው የቀረው.... ፎካሪው ፈሪ PeePee አልቶክስ አለ እንጂ::
ከቶከሰ ግን የመጀመሪያም የመጨረሻም ጦርነት ነው እሚሆነ ጦርነቱ የሚቆመው ሁለተኛ ከደቡብ ኤርትራ ወይም ምእራብ ኤርትራ ድንበ ክልል ምንም የጦርነት ጥጋብ ድንፋታ እንዳይደገም ተደርጎ ይጠናቀቃል:: Mark my words.

In a radio interview with DimtSi Hafash in 1979, after the Dergue, with the support of the Soviet Union and all its satellites, pushed the ELF and the EPLF out of the liberated cities and towns, Isaias Afwerki famously said that the Dergue's advances will be halted and reversed and that the struggle may take longer but will eventually be concluded with Eritrean victory. The Dergue conducted 8 major operations to defeat the EPLF all of which were total defeats. The most serious was the Red Star campaign of 1982 which ended with a total loss for the Derg. After that, it was "oromay" a word derived from Italian and used by Eritreans to mean "the game is over". So, in a sense, it was the turning point. The 1984 annihilation of the wuqaw command in which the EPLF destroyed or captured 120 tanks was another mile-stone. The 1985 destruction of the Derg forces in the Western lowlands and the capture of Barentu was also a stunner for the Derg. After the annihilation of the Nadew command in 1988, everyone in Eritrea knew that liberation was just a matter of time. Fenkil was the beginning of the end for Mengistu's regime. In September 1990, Isaias' reply to a queistion, "When is Eritrean liberation" was "We can do it anytime we want to." The only delay was to make sure that the Derg was defeated not just in Eritrea but kicked out of power in Addis. As long the mad-man Mengistu was in power, he was a menace. That is why, the EPLF went to Debre Zeit to incapacitate the Derg air force.

Significance: This victory (Operation Fenkil) was a major turning point in the Eritrean War of Independence, leading to the eventual liberation of the area