Shifta

[3][4] Historically, the shifta served as a local militia in particularly remote, rural and often lawless parts of the Horn of Africa, namely the Ethiopian Highlands.

The word shifta can be translated as "bandit" or "outlaw," but can include anyone who rebels against an authority or an institution that is seen as illegitimate, like the Arbegnoch guerillas during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia.

One of the first mentions of shifta-like activity in the region comes from the Portuguese in medieval Ethiopia who stated that due to the countries mountainous nature rebels could hide out in the countryside, evading capture by imperial troops, setting up ambushes, and subsisting off the local land for months.

The idea of the shifta as a form of law enforcement in east Africa likely comes from northern Ethiopian societies historical propensity for blood feud (Amharic: ደመላሽ, romanized: Demelash, lit.

[9][10] In recent times, both prime ministers Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea and Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia were called shifta when they served, respectively, as rebel leaders of the EPLF and TPLF,[11] along with members of the 21st century Amhara ethnic nationalist Fano.