Page 16 - Then Came the Glory

Then Came the Glory
opponents in Tigray and Eritrea attacked them. At this point the Derg sought cooperation from the nationalists,
revolutionaries, and religious leaders. With the serious
challenge from the EPLF and the "Woyanies" of Tigray, the state and its cadres went to the battle field. Many Christians
escaped persecution at that time, by the mercy of God. A commanding officer from Tigray declared, "After we dismiss the enemy on the Northern front, our next target will be to eliminate religion." Sudden death on the battle field did not
permit him to fulfill this ambition.
The war in Eritrea and Tigray continued beyond the
anticipation of the PMAC compelling the government to accumulate a vast range of arms and manpower. Whenever
the Cadres and administrators had to recruit soldiers, they chose religious people and those they hated, hoping they would die in war. The PMAC recruited militia from the streets, schools, and churches by illegal force . When the Cadres came to take young men either to the battle field or to extermination, many mothers living in frustration and awful fear locked their sons in cupboards to hide them. Some of those mothers lost their minds when they found their sons dead from suffocation after the search ended. In the end, the vast acciunulation of thieves and vagabonds drafted by the Cadres contributed to their downfall.
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