ABSTRACT
In the 1950s, Ethiopia and Sudan shared many challenges of territorial control and state building.1 Both had ethnically and religiously diverse populations and elites at the centre trying by means of assimilation or suppression to incorporate the peripheries. In order to improve control and prevent neighbouring states from disrupting their territories, the regimes sought the help of alliances with external powers in the Middle East and globally. The Ethiopian Imperial regime of Haile Selassie (1931-1974) pursued an active policy towards neighbouring states. Sudan and Somalia were seen as particularly challenging and troublesome neighbours.2 Because Haile Selassie felt threatened by Somalia’s ambition towards a Greater Somalia state, he initially considered Sudan as an ally, sharing ‘both in principle and in fact’, opposition to ‘any kind of fragmentation of a national territory on the basis of religion or tribalism’.3 The emperor was determined to cooperate with the Sudanese to contain rebel activities in their common border areas. But when it became apparent that Khartoum was providing support to the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), proxy warfare ensued as both countries supported a succession of rebel groups.
