Abstract:
Jn the early years of the Ethiopian revolution, different opposition groups struggle against the
revolutionary government was a wide spread phenomenon. A typical example was the case of
EDU's resistance in North Gondar which alarmed the Ddrg. Directed by the former governors
of Gondar and Tigray provinces including with other notable local governors in the province,
EDU put up an armed resistance against the revolutionary government in support of the deposed
monarch. The prevalence of confusion and uncertainty within the people and the local
administration in the province also contributed to the resistance by the opposition groups in
North Gondar.
Initially, the EDU fighters were successful and made nearly all parts of North Gondar under
their control. However, the initial success of the opposition groups did not last long. The
opposition that lacked trained regular army and coordination could not withstand Darg 's
mechanized armed units called Gase/ that quickly put down the resistance.
Although EDU's resistance against the Darg resumed, the government took a series of mopping-
up operation by the security force and the Dames Zamacha units. This measure forced the EDU
fighters toffee towards Sudan where they conducted an intermittent war against the government
until 1991.
This study highlights several points of paramount importance. ft tried to investigate the factors
that made EDU to stand against the new regime, the Darg. Jn this regard, attempts are made to
bring about the historical, political and social origins of EDU's resistance in North Gondar.
Moreover, in this paper an attempt is made to assess the degree of organization and intensity of
the resistance, the impacts of the resistance, as well EDU and its relation with other opposition
groups. The study, therefore, tried to fill in some gaps in the study of the province under
consideration.
