The Eritrean Army is the main branch of the Eritrean Defence Forces and is one of the largest armies in Africa.^[7] The main role of the army in Eritrea is defense from external aggressors, border security, and developing national cohesion. Historically, the predecessor of the Eritrean Army, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), played a major role in establishing and defending the country's independence from Ethiopia in 1991 during the Eritrean War of Independence. Since then, the army has continued to be involved in low-level border conflicts with Ethiopia and several other neighbors, including Djibouti and Yemen, with the most notable one being the Ethiopian-Eritrean War from 1998 until 2000, which ended in a partial Ethiopian military victory and Eritrean boundary line victory. It is widely regarded as one of the largest and more capable armies in Africa, despite the country having a smaller population than most of its neighbors^[8][9] with around 250,000 to 300,000 personnel due to mandatory national service. Conscription became open ended since the war with Ethiopia and no demobilization has taken place.^[10][11]

Quick Facts Founded, Country ...

Eritrean Army
Founded	1991
Country	Eritrea
Type	Army
Role	Land warfare
Size	250,000–300,000 (including conscripts and militia)[1] Military age: 18 Conscription Both men and women 18 years of age are required to perform national service. Conscription was made open ended in 1998 with no set term and many served for more than a decade, but in 2014 the government set 18 months as the limit for national service.[1][2] Budget: $290 million (2006)[3] Percent of GDP: 6.3% (2006)[3]
Engagements	Eritrean War of Independence Hanish Islands conflict Second Sudanese Civil War First Congo War Eritrean–Ethiopian War Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict Tigray War
Commanders
Minister of Defense	General Sebhat Ephrem
Army Chief of Staff	General Philipos Woldeyohannes[4][5][6]

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The current Eritrean army is an outgrowth of the revolutionary Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). The trial by fire experienced by the EPLF during the Eritrean War of Independence created a force that was able to contend with the largest armed force on the African continent. When Eritrea gained independence, the country's military was admired as one of the most effective fighting forces not only in Africa but the world.^[12]

During the Eritrean struggle for independence, the EPLF fought several large scale battles towards the end of the war. The most decisive were the Battle of Afabet in 1988 and the Battle of Massawa in 1990. These battles saw the collision of major units of the EPLF versus a conventional armed force.

Since its independence in 1992, Eritrea has taken part in multiple wars and clashes with its neighbors. Most notably the war with Ethiopia and border conflict with Djibouti. Eritrea has had several wars and clashes within the last two decades, particularly with Djibouti. In 2008, relations between Eritrea and Djibouti were driven to a point where war was imminent, but open conflict was averted.^[13] The Eritrean Army was also involved in the Second Sudanese Civil War during which the Eritrean government supported and organised various anti-Sudanese rebel groups.^[14][15] Most notably, the Eritrean military provided the SPLA rebels with weaponry, training, and intelligence.^[16] In some cases, the Eritreans even sent covert expeditionary forces into Sudan to directly fight alongside the insurgents against the Sudanese Armed Forces, for example in Operation Thunderbolt (1997).^[17] Furthermore, the Eritrean Army sent one of its battalions to fight in the First Congo War due to Eritrea's alliance with Rwanda at the time. The Eritreans took part in the entire campaign, fighting with the pro-AFDL alliance and covering over 1,500 km. According to the Horn of Africa journalist Martin Plaut, this was "an extraordinary feat, especially for soldiers who walked the entire distance in gumboots, with little or no logistical support". By the end of the war, the Eritrean contingent was starving, exhausted, and ill; it had suffered numerous casualties due to the adverse conditions of the country.^[18]

This section uses citations that link to broken or outdated sources. (November 2021)

Information on the structure and formations of the Eritrean Army is hard to obtain as units are frequently shifted around and reorganized to prevent them from forming loyalties to commanders. In 1992, the President formed a working group of former officers of the Ethiopian Armed Forces to suggest the structure of the new Eritrean military. They recommended that the Army should be based on divisions, each headed by a colonel, with the chief of staff being a major general, and a civilian minister of defense. The working group recommended that the military be professionalized and institutionalized, maintaining small numbers due to Eritrea's limited resources and small size. President Isaias Afwerki ignored most of their advice, however, and promoted 37 former combatants of the war for independence to the general officer ranks. This hampered the development of the military as an institution and was done so that he could play them off against each other and maintain the army's loyalty to him personally. Due to the president frequently shifting the organization and assignments of senior commanders and chiefs of staff, as well as the lack of official documents recording them, putting together a complete picture of the structure of the Eritrean Army is difficult and largely relies on reports from former senior military officers.^[1][19]

In February 1991 the divisions of the EPLA were subordinated to four corps, the 161st, 271st, 381st, and 491st.^[19] During the 1990s there were a total of 24 divisions.^[1]

Since 2001 the army has undergone extensive reforms and resulted in the establishment of regional military command zones, which themselves are frequently changed. Currently, as of the late 2000s, the Eritrean ground forces are organized into four corps consisting of twenty infantry brigades, one mechanized brigade, and one commando division (the latter two had been created in 1991). The sources are unclear on whether the four corps still exist or not.^[1][19] There is also a Presidential Guard which includes three units of about 2,000 men. These serve as the president's personal security and are given better pay and equipment, also being used to guard political prisoners.^[1][12] In total these forces are estimated to number between 250,000 and 300,000 men, including large numbers of conscripts between the ages of eighteen and fifty. These forces are divided among five command zones, as defined in 1965 by the supreme council of the Eritrean Liberation Front. Each zone is headed by a general, who reportedly have gained considerable political power at the expense of the local civil administrations since the war with Ethiopia. Deputy commanders of zones are selected for their loyalty to President Isaias Afwerki, who uses them to maintain control. The zones include the following: Gasha-Barka (Zone 1), West (Zone 2), South (Zone 3), East (Zone 4), Center (Zone 5). Asmara, the capital, is included in the latter zone.^[1][19] Later on these zones were reformed into three new ones, the Central, Eastern, and Western fronts.^[12] A military training camp is located near Assab. Large forces are still kept near the disputed Ethiopian border.^[20]

In 2012 the government has taken an extra measure of establishing a "people's militia" for the older segment of the population, men aged sixty and women aged seventy, and under.^[12]

Since the military region commanders report directly to the President, the office of Defense Minister is largely ceremonial.^[3]

Commissioned Officers

More information Rank group, General / flag officers ...

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers								Officer cadet
Eritrean Army v t e
							Major general		Brigadier general		Colonel		Lieutenant colonel		Major		Captain		First lieutenant			Second lieutenant

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Enlisted

More information Rank group, Senior NCOs ...

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Eritrean Army v t e																																			No insignia
							Master Sergeant				Staff Sergeant						Sergeant						Corporal						Private first class						Private

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