Mengistu Haile Mariam
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Mengistu Haile Mariam is an Ethiopian communist revolutionary, military officer, and former statesman who served as the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. He was General Secretary of the Wor
Mengistu in 1977/78
Fidel Castro meets with Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia, 1977
Same Mengistu's speech. Moment during which he is throwing a bottle filled with blood.
Propaganda poster, shows Mengistu.
1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia
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A widespread famine affected Ethiopia from 1983 to 1985. The worst famine to hit the country in a century, it affected 7.75 million people and left approximately 300,000 to 1.2 million dead. 2.5 milli
Mengistu Haile Mariam
…border region (Ogaden), was notable for the prominent role of Mengistu's Soviet and Cuban allies in securing an Ethiopian victory. The catastrophic famine of 1983–1985 is what brought his government the most international attention. Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe in May 1991 after the PDRE National Shengo dissolved itself…
Royal Air Force C-130 airdropping food during the famine in 1985
According to Oxfam and Human Rights Watch, Mengistu Haile Mariam helped to organize policies that multiplied the effects of the famine. He was sentenced to death in Ethiopia for crimes committed during his government (Derg). As of 2018[update],[needs update] Mengistu lived in exile in Zimbabwe.
Famine relief being unloaded off a truck in 1985
Food distribution organized by Ethiopian Red Cross volunteers