Parts of Eritrea were ruled by Ethiopia and parts by local clans until 1890, when Italy made the region a colony. The British seized control of Eritrea in 1941, during World War II. Under a United Nations plan, it was loosely federated with Ethiopia in 1952. Ethiopia gradually reduced Eritrean autonomy, and the region was made a province of Ethiopia in 1962. In the previous year Eritrean guerrillas had begun a revolt against Ethiopian rule. The rebellion continued for three decades.
In 1991 Eritrean rebels, allied with various rebel groups in Ethiopia proper, overthrew the Ethiopian government. In a referendum in 1993, Eritreans voted to sever ties to Ethiopia; the government of Ethiopia agreed, and Eritrea became independent. Disputes over the border lingered, however, and, in 1998, led to a ground-and-air war with Ethiopia. Fighting ceased in 2000 with the signing of a peace accord between the two countries.
