About Eritrea
300-600 - Eritrea part of the Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum.

600 - Arabs introduce Islam to coastal areas.

1500s - Ottoman Empire annexes Eritrea.

1890 - Eritrea becomes an Italian colony.

1941 - British forces occupy Eritrea.



Asmara skyline

1949 - Britain administers Eritrea as a United Nations trust territory.

1952 - UN decides to make Eritrea a federal component of Ethiopia.

1958 - Eritrean Liberation Front formed.

Independence struggle

1962 - Ethiopia annexes Eritrea, turning it into a province; war of independence begins.

1970 - Leftist faction of the Eritrean Liberation Front splits to form the Eritrean People's Liberation Front.

1974 - Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie overthrown in a coup led by Mengistu Haile Mariam.

1977-78 - Soviet advisers and Cuban troops help Ethiopian forces reverse significant advances made by Eritrean guerrillas.

1990 - Eritrean People's Liberation Front captures the Eritrean port of Massawa.

1991 - Eritrean People's Liberation Front captures the Eritrean capital, Asmara and forms a provisional government; the United Nations sets a date for a referendum on Eritrean independence with Ethiopian backing.

1993 - Eritreans almost unanimously vote for independence; Eritrea becomes independent and joins the United Nations.

Post-independence war

1995 - Eritrean troops invade the Yemeni-held Hanish islands at the mouth of the Red Sea.

1998 - International arbitration panel awards the Greater Hanish island to Yemen and divides other smaller islands between the two countries; border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia escalates into large-scale fighting.



Civilians fleeing Ethiopian bombardment

1999 - Eritrean-Ethiopian border clashes turn into a full-scale war.

2000 May - Ethiopia captures the strategic Eritrean town of Barentu.

2000 June - Eritrea and Ethiopia sign a ceasefire agreement which calls for a United Nations force to monitor their compliance and to supervise the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Eritrean territory.

2000 December - Eritrea and Ethiopia sign a peace agreement in Algeria establishing commissions to mark the border, exchange prisoners, return displaced people and hear compensation claims.

2001 6 February - Eritrea accepts United Nations plans for a temporary demilitarised zone along its border with neighbouring Ethiopia.

2001 24 February - Ethiopia says it has completed its troop withdrawal from Eritrea in accordance with a United Nations-sponsored agreement to end the border war.

Geography
Geography and Climatic

Eritrea comprises three main geographical and climatic zones : the Eastern Slope and the Coastal Plains, the Central Highlands, and the Western Lowlands.



Much of the eastern slope and coastal plains is desert or semi-desert, inhabited mainly by agro- pastoralists. There is a narrow band of fertile agricultural land north and west of Ghinda (small village located 45 km east of Asmara) on the eastern slope. The hottest months along the coast are June through August, where daily temperature ranges from 29° to 41° C, with high humidity (above 80%). During the cool season from December to February, daily temperature ranges from 18° to 32°C. Along the northern coast, the rainy season stretches from December to February. Rain rarely falls along the southern coast.

The highland areas of the country are densely populated and intensively cultivated by farming communities. This area enjoys a temperate climate, with high temperatures of around 29°C during the hottest month of May. The coldest months are December and February with low temperatures around 0°C. There are two rainy seasons, March/April and June through September).

The western lowlands begin in Keren and extend westward to the border with Sudan. Extensive agricultural development is planned for this area which will be irrigated from the seasonal Barka and Gash rivers. High temperature in this region can reach 43°C from April through June. December is the coldest month when temperature may fall as low as 13°C. The rainy season in this part of the country falls from late June to early September, similar to the Highlands.

E-mail

Web Site