Some degree of autonomy was guaranteed, however, following the establishment and the crushing of Eritrea liberation movements, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia unilaterally dissolved the Eritrea parliament and annexed the country in 1962. That action marked the beginning of a thirty year struggle for independence.

The Eritrean Liberation Front had already existed since 1960 however it continually fractured along urban/rural, socialist/nationalist, Christian/Muslim lines with the formation of other liberation groups including the Popular Liberation Forces (PLF), The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and the Eritrean Liberation Front-Popular Liberation Front (ELF-PLF). Guerrilla activity by these groups saw Ethiopian forces largely confined to urban areas by 1977. In that year the Soviet Union began to back Ethiopia and provided military aid. Then, despite some initial successes, the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea became one of attrition with gains and losses being made by both side over the next few years.