The Eritrean War of Independence was fought as a guerrilla campaign by two main Eritrean liberation fronts, first by the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) and then, after the Eritrean Civil Wars, by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) against the Ethiopian Empire, and later the Marxist Derg regime.
This asymmetrical campaign against Ethiopian control left the Ethiopian military at a disadvantage and so it embarked on a policy of destroying Eritrean villages.
[citation needed] It was hoped that this would prevent the separatists from continuing their campaign.
Listed below are some of the major civilian massacres committed by both the Ethiopian Empire and the Derg.
Throughout the conflict Ethiopia used "anti-personnel gas"[15]