#eplf

Under the protective eye of a Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) fighter, lessons continue for these orphaned children. They are inside a camouflaged bunker at a desert wadi south of the provincial capital Keren, June 27, 1978.

Flag of Eritrea

Aspect Ratio 1:2

The current flag of Eritrea was adopted in 1995. The symbols of Eritrean flag were derived from the flags of both the Eritrean Federation and the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). Following WWII, Eritrea was given over from Italian to British control via UN mandate. Arab nationalism led to the British handing the territory over to Haile Selassie's Ethiopia, who had long claimed Eritrea as a "lost province." Under Ethiopia, Eritrea was an autonomous state, and adopted a blue flag with the olive wreath emblem, which symbolized peace. Following a 1961 civil war, however, Eritrea was entirely annexed by Ethiopia. Thus the EPLF began their long campaign for Eritrean independence. When the country attained independence in 1993 a new flag was adopted, featuring the background of the EPLF's flag, but replacing their gold star emblem with the olive wreath from the 1952 flag. In 1995 the leaves of the wreath were standardized to 30, representing the number of years spent in civil war before independence. The ratio was also changed from 2:3 to 1:2. The green stands for agriculture, the blue for the sea, and the red for blood lost in the fight for freedom.

Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF)

A guerrilla of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF)

Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF)

Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF)