Ethiopia

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

This country is officially known today as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. For most of its history, the region has been ruled by a monarchy. The earliest kingdom, the D'mt, reigned from 700 to 400 BC and was succeeded by the Askumite Empire, which gained prominence in the 1st century CE and declined around the 9th century. Both Ethiopia and its neighbor Eritrea were ruled by the Zagwe dynasty from 1137 to 1270, and after this the Solomnic dynasty, which is the traditional ruling house of Ethiopia. Europeans first made contract with Ethiopia in the 15th century, but the nation retained its independence through the colonial period and resisting the Ottomans in the mid-16th century. Christianity was introduced to the nation in the 4th century, and eventually it was brought under the dominion of the Coptic Church of Alexandria.

Following a period of isolationism from 1755 to 1855, Ethiopia endured a series of local rebellions, as well as incursions from the Ottoman Empire, Egypt and a military expedition from Great Britain. The borders of the present nation were established under the reign of Emperor Menelik II in the late 19th century. In a treaty signed with Italy, a region of modern day Eritrea was ceded in exchange for political support and arms. The early 20th century was marked by the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I, who undertook the modernization of Ethiopia from 1916. The nation was briefly occupied by Italy from 1936 to 1941, but was liberated with the assistance of British forces during the East African Campaign, although the Italians continued to fight a guerilla campaign until 1943.

In 1952 Haile Selassie orchestrated a federation with Eritrea which he dissolved in 1962, and which instigated the long-lasting Eritrean War of Independence that did not end until 1992. Haile Selassie's reign came to an end in 1974, when a Soviet-backed Marxist-Leninist military junta, the "Derg" - led by Mengistu Haile Mariam - deposed him, and established a one-party communist state called People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. During the Ogaden War (1977-78) with neighboring Somalia the nation lost the Ogaden region in the north, regained only after receiving military aid from Eastern Europe, North Korea, and Cuba. The Ethiopian Red Terror, a period of violence, deportations, widespread hunger and genocide from 1977 to 1978, was followed in the 1980s by a series of famines that affected as many as eight million Ethiopians. In response, an opposition movement, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), waged a guerilla war which ultimately collapsed the military junta and set up a transitional government in 1991. Eritreans voted for and achieved independence in 1993, and the first free and democratic election took place in May 1995.

In May 1998, Ethiopia and Eritrea went to war over a border dispute that continued until 2000. Ethiopia still occupies the territory gained during that conflict, despite a UN determination that the land actually belongs to Eritrea.

A series of civil conflicts that began in 2018 has kept the defense forces in a constant state of warfare against insurgents from a number of regions, most prominently in Benishangul-Gumuz (from 2019), Oromia (from 2019), Tigray (2020-22), and - most recently - in the Amhara region (from 2023). Additionally, the Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (el-Shabaab) movement launched a brief invasion across the border with Somalia in July & August 2022.

From 3 November 2020 until 3 November 2022, a civil war, known as the Tigray War, was fought in the Tigray region, pitting the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) against a militant insurgent group calling itself the Tigray Defense Forces (supporting the Tigray People's Liberation Front/TPLF). The conflict also involved members of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), fighting on the side of the Tigray forces from late 2021. Although a peace agreement was brokered in November 2022, a portion of the region's Western Zone remains disputed.

An armed insurgent group centered in the Amhara region, known as Fano (ፋኖ), has participated in armed conflict with the National Defense Force since 2018, although it has also found itself at various times fighting the TPLF, the OLA, Eritrean Army, and even the Sudanese Armed Forces. Fano's primary purpose is to protect and defend the people of Amhara, although since April 2023 they have been in a state of full-scale war against the federal government of Ethiopia, which planned to dismantle the Amhara Regional Special Forces and assimilate its members into the ENDF. Although sharing a similar purpose, attempts to organize different district militias have failed and at present there are six major factions making up Fano: the Amhara People's Army, Wollo faction, Gojjam faction, North Gondar faction, South Gondar faction, and Shewa faction, each one having a separate military leader.

The Imperial Territorial Army (የግዛት ጦር) was formed by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1942 and served as a rural police and counter-guerilla force as the Ethiopian Army was being trained and formed with the assistance of Britain. The Army had become fairly modernized by the 1950s, with light armor, field artillery, and even aircraft, thanks in part to significant contributions from the United States. An Imperial Bodyguard of more than 3,000 personnel formed the nucleus of the ground forces, although an attempted coup d'etat in 1960 sparked the unit's disbandment and subsequent increase in the strength of the rest of the army to around 38,000 by 1968. Elite units of the Imperial Army included the 102nd Airborne Division of the Air Force (formed in 1958) as well as a Marine Commando unit attached to the Imperial Navy. These were the only units issued camouflage uniforms during the Selassie's reign. The 103rd Commando Division was formed in January 1987 during the Derg regime, and replaced the Airborne and Marine Commando units as the main Ethiopian elite force.

The current armed forces are known as the Ethiopian National Defense Force (የኢፌዴሪ መከላከያ ሰራዊት) or ENDF, and consist of the Ethiopian Army and Ethiopian Air Force, plus a small Navy (reformed in 2019, in part to ensure protection for offshore Ethiopian commercial vessels). It is estimated there are as many as 182,000 active duty personnel in the ENDF. There are approximately 31 Divisions in the Army, plus two elite formations: the 102nd Airborne Division, and the 103rd Commando Division - both reformed units using the same titles as previous elite formations.

Formed in 1995, the Ethiopian Federal Police are responsible for maintaining law and order, providing public security, and – in extreme situations – performing internal security functions in all twelve regional states in Ethiopia. Separate to the Federal Police are the Regional Special Forces (regional police), which were formed in 2007 to provide internal security and counterinsurgency duties within the individual regional states. In 2023, the federal government announced it would be disbanding the Regional Special Forces and integrating them either into the National Defense Force, or the Federal Police. This announcement was met with derision by some regions of the country, leading to widespread protests and even violence, such as that in the Amhara region.

Camouflage Patterns of the Ethiopian Armed Forces

• Within the Imperial Armed Forces, most military personnel wore solid-color uniforms of dark khaki or olive green. The only units with a documented history of wearing camouflage are the 102nd Airborne Division ("Flying Tigers") and the Marine Commandos of the Ethiopian Navy. While photographs of the Marines only show them wearing a unique vertical stripe camouflage pattern of undetermined origins, some personnel of the Airborne Division also wore a three-color brushstroke design in precisely the same pattern as later worn in Iraq and even by some personnel in Somalia. The earliest documented use of either pattern is around 1958.

• Under the "Derg" regime, the standard camouflage pattern of Ethiopian forces was the South Korean-produced "waves" pattern originally worn by the ROK Special Forces. Although not universally issued, the pattern was commonly worn by Commando brigades and other ground forces.

• Since at least the very late 1990s, Ethiopian forces have worn a copy of the US m81 woodland camouflage pattern, sourced from a variety of manufacturers and nations.

• In 1994, Ethiopian troops deploying to Rwanda as part of Operation Support Hope wore DPM pattern camouflage uniforms. To our knowledge, this is the only time DPM camouflage was worn by Ethiopia, and it is altogether likely the uniforms were sourced or provided by another country.

• A brown-dominant pixelated design was been adopted by the Ethiopian Army (including the Republican Guard) early in 2020. The pattern incorporates black, dark olive and brown shapes on a khaki background.

• In May 2021, it was announced that the fledgling Ethiopian Navy would adopt a new camouflage uniform (along with a distinctive shoulder logo and rank insignia). The camouflage design appears to be a close copy of the "Airman's Battle Uniform" (ABU) design adopted by the US Air Force in 2007 (and retired in 2021).

Camouflage Patterns of Ethiopian Law Enforcement Agencies

• Special units of the Ethiopian Federal Police have worn a blue-dominant variation of the woodland camouflage pattern for a considerable length of time. This design has been in use since at least 2015, but probably has much earlier origins. This camo pattern was presumably replaced in 2021 by the blue digital camouflage pattern currently in use.

• The Oromia Region Special Police wear a desert-type pattern consisting of large russet blotches on a sand-colored background. Two versions of the pattern have been observed, one with large black "chips" sparsely scattered throughout and another that lacks them. What makes this pattern interesting is the concentric colored circles (in the colors of the Oromia State flag) embedded into the pattern.

• Since at least 2016, Ethiopian Wildlife Rangers working to protect natural resources in the country's national parks have worn a variation of tricolor desert camouflage, with a prominent grey instead of khaki feature.

• In 2015 it was announced that the Addis Ababa Police would adopt a unique variation of the six-color chocolate chip pattern as seen here. This design only remained in service for a couple of years, however, before being replaced by a similar design.

• The Tigray Police have worn a woodland-type pattern in desert colors, incorporating brown and yellow-tan colors on a pale, sand-colored background for a number of years.

• In service since at least 2020, the Regional Special Forces of both the Amhara and Gambela regions adopted a copy of Multicam. An updated, pixelated version was also introduced in April 2025.

• In the Sidama Regional Special Forces, an unusual mottled camouflage design was adopted, featuring spots and amoebic shapes in black, two shades of green, and grey, set against a pinkish-grey background.

• The Federal Prisons Police (part of the Federal Prisons Service) adopted a blue-dominant amoebia camouflage design, seen here, which was in service around 2015. This would later be replaced with a pixelated camo pattern.

• The Ethiopian Federal Police adopted a new pixelated camouflage design in 2020. The color palette of this pattern is similar to, but not precisely the same, as the old American Navy NWU-1 "blueberries" camouflage. Worn by conventional personnel as well as specialized units like riot police, this pattern seems to have been universally adopted by the Police, although regional police units are still wearing their own unique designs.

• Around November 2021, the Addis Ababa Police field units began wearing a new version of the six-color "chocolate chip" camouflage design, apparently replacing the previous version. Like its predecessor, this camo design would only remain in service for a couple of years.

• Subordinate to the Ethiopian Federal Police, the Ethiopian Federal Prison Service issues a blue-dominant pixelated camouflage design with a much lighter color palette than that of the EFP. This design has been in service since around 2021.

• A pixelated camouflage design was brought into service with the Addis Ababa Police field units in January 2024, although the previous year a slightly different version was observed, perhaps only experimental. This design retains the color palette of the previously issued "chocolate chip" camouflage pattern, which it will ultimately replace.

• Circa April 2025, the Amhara Regional Special Forces introduced a new, pixelated camouflage pattern based on the color palette of Multicam. This pattern was still being integrated into the Force as of October 2025.

Camouflage Patterns Unique to Insurgent Groups in Ethiopia

• The Fano militias wear a variety of camouflage designs, from standard ENDF patterns to what might be home-made tie-dyed designs. Both the old woodland and current digital patterns of the ENDF can be found in abundance, as well as Asian-made copies of Multicam. Unique to the combatants from the Wollo faction, however, appears to be this interesting design consisting of dark green needle shapes on a pale green background.