Isaias Afwerki, Eritrea’s dictator who has ruled the country since its 1993 independence, is almost 80 years old and rumors continue to abound about his increasingly frequent health crises.
Much of the economy relies on mandatory and indefinite conscription, basically state-sanctioned slavery.
Under his tenure, Eritrea squandered its potential. Much of the economy relies on mandatory and indefinite conscription, basically state-sanctioned slavery. China is Eritrea’s only meaningful trade partner. Isaias has played a crucial role in destabilizing the region. What began as a friendly relationship with Ethiopia ended in a war over the border region near Badme. Up to 100,000 people died in the 1998-2000 war that locals derided as “two bald men fighting over a comb,” due to Badme’s isolation and economic irrelevance. More recently, Isaias involved himself in the Ethiopian civil war, sending troops (and Somali conscripts ostensibly in Eritrea for training) into Ethiopia to help crush the country’s ethnic Tigray, a conflict that killed upwards of a quarter-million people. This latest intervention also earned Eritrea enhanced U.S. sanctions.
Read more: Can Eritrea Be a Force for Stability After Its Dictator’s Fall?
