Battle of Adal
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Date1 September 1961
Location
Adal, Ethiopia
Result
ELF victory
- Start of the Eritrean War of Independence
| Battle of Adal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Eritrean War of Independence | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Ethiopian Empire |
 Eritrean Liberation Front | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown |
Hamid Idris Awate | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 14 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 1 captured | ||||||
The Battle of Adal took place on 1 September 1961, and was the first battle in the Eritrean War of Independence.[1] In the battle, the Eritrean Liberation Front, which numbered at only 14, was able to overcome the local Ethiopian forces. Rebel weaponry included 1 British and 3 old Italian guns, while the majority of Rebels were unarmed.[1] The battle begun at 9:00 AM, and lasted about six hours,[2] and is commemorated in Eritrea as Revolution Day.[1]
The rebels who participated were:[1]
- Hamid Idris Awate (ELF leader)
- Abdu M. Fayd
- Ibrahim M. Ali
- Humed Qadif
- Awate M. Fayd
- Mohammed Bayraq (taken prisoner, later died in 1975 in an Ethiopian prison[2])
- Mohammed Adem Hisan
- Saleh Qaruj
- Ahmed Fikak
- Mohammed Hassen Duhe
- Adem Faqurai
- Ali Bakhit
- Idris Mohamoud
- Omar Karay
