This is a list of wars involving the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (modern-day Ethiopia) and its predecessor states.
Ethiopian Empire (1270–1975)
Conflict Combatant 1 Combatant 2 ResultsConquests of Amda Seyon I (1316–1332) EthiopiaSultanate of Ifat Kingdom of Damot Hadiya Sultanate Sultanate of Dawaro Enderta Province Kingdom of Simien & moreVictories Incorporation of the southern kingdoms into the Ethiopian Empire Conquest of Dawaro Re-establishment of Imperial hegemony in Tigray Establishment of Imperial hegemony in Ifat Spread of Judaism in modern-day Mi'irabawi halted Badley ad-Din II's Invasion of Ethiopia(1445) Ethiopian Empire Adal Sultanate Victory Death of the Adal SultanJ. Spencer Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia (Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press, 1952), p. 75.E. A. Wallis Budge, A history of Ethiopia, pp. 307–308. Abyssinian–Adal War(1529–1543) Portuguese Empire Adal Sultanate Stalemate Status quo ante bellum Ottoman–Ethiopian War (1557–1589) Ethiopian Empire Egypt Eyalet Yemen Eyalet Medri Bahri Adal Sultanate Victory Ethiopian victory in the highlandsDombrowski, Franz Amadeus. Ethiopia's Access to the Sea. Germany: Brill, 2023, p.25Casale, Giancarlo. The Ottoman Age of Exploration. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2010, p.152 Ottoman annexation of Massawa Decline and dissolution of the Adal SultanateTrimingham, J. Spencer. Islam in Ethiopia. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis, 2013, p.96p.206Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. https://books.google.com/books?id=zpYBD3bzW1wC The Red Sea Press. ISBN 9780932415196. Establishment of Habesh Eyalet in Hergigo and MassawaOrhonlu, C. (1965). Osmanlıların Habeşistan Siyaseti 1554–1560. Tarih Dergisi, 15(20), 39-54. The establishment of Ottoman Zeila Iyasu II's Invasion of Sennar(1738) Ethiopia SennarSupported by:Darfur Defeat Iyasu II's army defeated Several of the Ethiopian Emperor's valuables lost Zemene Mesafint(1769–1855) Various factions Various factions Reunification of Ethiopia Tewodros II becomes Emperor Ottoman–Ethiopian border conflicts(1832–1848) Ethiopian Empire Ottoman Empire Eyalet of Egypt Victory Ethiopia retains territorial integrity and independence Ottoman-Egyptians expand south into the Great Lakes region Leads to the Egyptian-Ethiopian war British Expedition to Abyssinia(1867–1868) Ethiopian Empire
Ethiopian rebels Defeat Tewodros II commits suicide to avoid capture Ethiopian–Egyptian War(1874–1876) Egyptian Empire Victory Egyptian Khedive defeated Collapse of Egyptian Khedivate Mahdist War(1881–1889) Victory End of Mahdist raids into Ethiopia at the Battle of Gallabat Death of Emperor Yohannes IV End of the Mahdist war in 1889 Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889 Compromise Treaty of Wuchale; establishment of Italian EritreaMenelik's Expansions (Late 19th century) Various polities (see List of polities involved)Victories Incorporation of the southern kingdoms into the Ethiopian Empire. Incorporation of the Oromo borderlands such as the Kingdom of Jimma, Qabesh, and Arsi Oromo into the Ethiopian Empire Incorporation of the Emirate of Harar and Ogaden region into the Ethiopian Empire Beginning of the Dervish war in response to Ethiopian expansion into the Ogaden Centralization of Ethiopia in Shewa Founding of Addis Ababa in 1897. First Italo-Ethiopian War (1896) Ethiopian Empire Kingdom of Italy Victory Ethiopia retains independence Italians defeated Dervish War(1900–1920) and (1914–1915) Dervish movementSupported by: Ethiopian allied victory Collapse of the Dervish State Second Italo-Ethiopian War(1935–1937) Defeat Italian control over most of the Ethiopian Empire's former territory Establishment of Italian East Africa Beginning of Arbegnoch anti-fascist resistance East African Campaign(1940–1941) Ethiopian Arbegnoch Belgium
Equatorial Africa Ethiopian allied victory Fall of Italian East Africa Independence of Ethiopia Woyane rebellion(1943) Woyane rebels Victory Revolt crushed Korean War (1950–1953) Stalemate The Korean Armistice Agreement Congo Crisis (1960–1964)
Supported by:
1963–1964:
Supported by: 1960–1963:
Supported by:
1960–1962:
Supported by:
1963–1964:
Supported by: Victory Debellation of Congolese separatist states Bale Revolt(1963–1970) → Victory Revolt crushed, peace agreement 1964 Ethiopian–Somali War(1964) Stalemate Military offensive of Ethiopia repulsed, ceasefire agreement OLA insurgency(1973–present) OLF(until 2018) OLA(initially part of OLF, independent from 2018) IFLO(1985–87) EUPF(1993–2012)Supported by:(1998–2018) (alleged) Ongoing Start of peace talks between government of Ethiopia and the OLA on 25 April 2023 Conflict resumes after peace talks failed in May 2023. The OLA and the government signed a peace deal on 1 December 2024 and its members started moving into designated camps
Communist Ethiopia (1975–1991) Conflict Combatant 1 Combatant 2 Results Eritrean War of Independence (1961–1991) 1961–1974 Ethiopian Empire1974–1991 Derg (1974–1987) PDR Ethiopia (1987–1991) ELF (1961–1981) EPLF (since 1973) TPLF (since 1975) EPLF victory Eritrean insurgency begins in 1961 ELF defeated by EPLF and TPLF during the Eritrean Civil Wars Fall of the Derg regime Eritrea gains de facto independence from Ethiopia in 1991 under EPLF rule, and de jure independence after the referendum held in 1993 under UN auspices Independence of Eritrea Ethiopia becomes a landlocked country. Ogaden War(1977: "MOND classified documents reveal that the full-scale Somali invasion came on Tuesday, July 12, 1977. The date of the invasion was not, therefore, July 13 or July 23 as some authors have claimed."–1978) Ethiopian victory Somalia breaks all ties with the Soviet Bloc and the Second World (except China and Romania). Beginning of the Somali Rebellion 1982 Ethiopian-Somali Border War(1982–1983) Ethiopia SSDF Somalia Stalemate Ethiopian invasion repulsed Stalemate at border towns of Galdogob and Balanbale Upsurge in domestic support for Somali President Siad Barre United States delivers emergency military aid to Somalia Ethiopian army and SSDF temporarily occupy the border towns of Galdogob and Balanbale Ethiopian Civil War(1974–1991) Derg (1974–1987) PDR Ethiopia (1987–1991)Supported by: (1974–1990) (1974–1990) (1974–1990)Somali anti-Barre groups: USC SSDF SPM SNM
Somali Anti WSLF-groups: Afraad SNM EPRDF TPLF EPDM OPDO EPRP MEISON (from 1977) EDU OLF WSLF ALFEritrean separatists: ELF (until 1981) EPLF Somali nationalists: WSLF ONLFSupported by: United States Somalia (1978–1991) China (from 1978) Romania (1978–1989) EPLF/TPLF rebel victory Fall of the Ethiopian Empire and subsequent implementation of military rule Creation, then collapse, of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia by the Derg Installation of the TPLF-led transitional government which would later become the EPRDF government in Ethiopia Installation of the EPLF-established PFDJ government in Eritrea after independence from Ethiopia Independence of Eritrea; Ethiopia becomes a landlocked country.
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (from 1995)
Conflict Combatant 1 Combatant 2 Results Insurgency in Ogaden(1992–2018) Supported by: ONLFSupported by:Ethiopia: Crackdown in East Punishes Civilians , Human Rights Watch, July 4, 2007. (alleged by Ethiopia)
al-Itihaad al-Islamiya(1992–97) Peace agreement reached Status quo ante bellum Eritrean–Ethiopian War (1998–2000) Ethiopian military victoryEritrean diplomatic victory Algiers Agreement (2000) Most of the disputed territory awarded to Eritrea by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2002 Ethiopian occupation of disputed territories and the border town of Badme until the 2020 Tigray War Refugee displacement and humanitarian crises of Eritreans and Ethiopians Deployment of UN Peace-keeping troops along disputed border region Conflict over the border continues until 2018 Final and binding border delimitation by the International Court of Arbitration Ethiopian occupation of Somalia(2006–2009) Invasion: Invasion: Islamist insurgent victory, see Consequences Disintegration of the Islamic Courts Union government and emergence of Islamist insurgency Deployment of AMISOM (2007) Rise of al-Shabaab Escalation of Insurgency in Ogaden Proliferation of Somali piracy Insurgency recaptures majority of south/central Somalia and Mogadishu Withdrawal of ENDF from Mogadishu and majority of Somalia (2009) New phase of Somali Civil War with conflict between 'radical' and 'moderate' Islamists South Sudanese Civil War(2013–2020) UNMISS Regional Protection Force South Sudan SPLA Air Force Mathiang Anyoor Maban Defence Force Allied militias: SSLM SRF JEM SPLM-N (alleged) SLA-AW SLA-MM EUPF (alleged)State allies: (alleged)
SPLM-IO Nuer White Army
TFNFSSFDP South Sudan National Army NAS Arrow Boys (since Nov. 2015) Wau State insurgents SSOA (until September 2018) SSOMA/NSSSOG (until Jan. 2020) Supported by: (South Sudanese gov. claim) Stalemate Oromia–Somali clashes(2016–2018)
Oromia Somali Liyu Police Abdi Illey arrested Benishangul-Gumuz conflict(2019–2022)
ENDF Benishangul-Gumuz Region Amhara Region Fano Gumuz People’s Democratic Movement Benishangul People's Liberation Movement Oromo Liberation Army Tigray People's Liberation Front (alleged) Peace agreement reached Tigray War(2020–2022) OLA (2021–22) Pretoria Agreement The government and the TPLF formally agreed to a cessation of hostilities and systematic, verifiable disarmament (2 November 2022) Second agreement for implementing the peace deal signed by both parties (12 November 2022) Federal authority in the Tigray Region is reestablished Interim Regional Administration of Tigray formed on 23 March 2023 Continued Eritrean military presence in Tigray as of 2023 Status of Tigray Region's Western Zone still disputed Al-Fashaga conflict(2020–2022) Amhara militiasAlleged: Sudanese victory Disengagement and de-escalation Sudan recaptures all of the border territory with Ethiopia. Sudan and Ethiopia agree to settle all disputes peacefully. War in Amhara(2023–present) ENDF Amhara Region Government Fano factions Amhara People's Army Wollo Fano Gojjam Fano Gondar Fano Shewa Fano Ongoing Heavy clashes erupt between Fano and ENDF during August 2023 Drone attacks against civilian targets Mass arrests and detention of Amhara civilians State of emergency declared Fano forces launch offensive in July 2024 ENDF launches major counter-offensive in October 2024
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