Afar Liberation Front
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Afar Liberation Front
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|---|---|
| Abbreviation | ALF |
| Ideology | Afar interests |
| Colors | Blue, White, Green |
| Seats in the House of Federation |
0 / 112
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| Seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives |
0 / 547
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| Party flag | |
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The Afar Liberation Front (abbreviated ALF) is an Afar political party in Ethiopia. It is known for fighting the communist Derg regime and the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1975 to 1991. After the Ethiopian Civil War ended, the ALF continued to promote Afar interests in the country peacefully.
In June 1975 the Derg attempted to arrest the Afar Sultan, Ras Alimirah Hanfadhe, an action which led to a pitched battle in Asayita, home of Ras alimirah, that left both Derg soldiers and Afar loyalist killed or wounded, and sent the Sultan and his son Hanfadhe Alimirah fleeing from Ethiopia. With their departure the Afar rose in revolt, burning the Tendaho Plantation and killing many non-Afar in the area around Asayita, as well as closing the highway that linked the Red Sea port of Assab with the rest of the country, bringing a halt to the Ethiopian economy. Gasoline was rationed in the capital city, Addis Ababa, for the first time. The Derg responded by devastating Asayita, and slaughtering innocent and guilty Afars indiscriminately. Despite this vicious response, Ras Alimirah and his son had been watching developments in Ethiopia, and had prepared accordingly by secretly sending a number of students to Somalia for training in guerrilla warfare. By the time the Sultan fled Ethiopia, these trained followers became the core of the Afar Liberation Front, who led the Afar fight against the Derg.
The Afar were not the only group in active revolt against the Derg regime, and the widespread ethnic unrest led the Derg to respond by announcing the Program for the National Democratic Revolution in April 1976. This would recognize the rights of ethnic groups who had suffered under the Haile Sellassie regime, and hopefully to solve the "national question" once and for all. In April of the following year the Derg met with representatives of the Afar National Liberation Movement (ANLM) in Gewane at an Afar congress. Afterwards a number of ANLM members were appointed to local administrative positions, which weakened both the ALF's military activity and political influence amongst the Afar.
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