Formerly an Italian colony Eritrea was federated into Ethiopia in 1952. In 1962 it was illegally annexed into Ethiopia. A prolonged conflict between the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) and Ethiopia occurred. In 1973 a socialist group, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), emerged and fought the ELF and Ethiopia. Eritrea achieved its independence from Ethiopia in 1993 and gained the entire coastline. The ports have been a significant income source for this country, but agreements and peace with Ethiopia are necessary for that income. Remittances from Eritreans abroad have been a substantial source of income - 250 million dollars in 2004. Eritrea has endured conflict with most of its neighbors, including Yemen, Sudan, and Djibouti. In 1998 a border conflict led to full-scale war in 1999 between Eritrea and Ethiopia, taking 50,000 lives in the process. In 2001 Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a peace agreement between the countries, and in 2007 the UN ruled on where the border should be.

DATA VISUALIZATIONS

PROTESTS

Eritrea-November-2017


Asmara, Al Diaa Islamic School
28 people were killed and another 100 injured after police opened fire on students demonstrating in the capital. This source details the incident writing: "The protests took place on Tuesday (Nov. 1) after the government tried to take control of a Muslim religious school and arrest Hajji Musa, a leading member, according to Al Jazeera English. When police faced resistance from the students at the Diaa Islamic School, they started beating them, after which demonstrations spilled into the streets. Unverified videos posted on social media showed security officers dispersing protesters. Another one showed Musa giving a speech and rejecting some of the government’s dictates including a ban on the headscarf." (Primary Source)