warfare and armed conflicts: a statistical encyclopedia of casualty and other figures, 1492-2015.

The Italians responded by strengthening their redoubt and reinforcing their garrison. On hearing the news of the Italian advance, he returned to Asmara and informed the Italian officials that they were violating the treaty between Abyssinia, Egypt, and Britain, and that any further movement of troops toward Sahati – the fortification of which could only be directed against Abyssinia – would be considered a hostile action and be treated accordingly. Ras Alula Engida the governor under Emperor Yohannes IV had at the time left Asmara, his headquarters, for the Basen country, in order to punish the Dervishes for raiding the Dembala provinces.

Their occupation of coastal Eritrea brought Italian interests into direct conflict with those of Ethiopia (Abyssinia).Īs soon as the Italians considered they were strong enough to advance into Abyssinia, they seized the villages of Ua-à and Zula along with the town of Sahati, in modern-day Eritrea and erected a small redoubt on the heights commanding the water supply for the caravans. The Italians, after their unification in 1861, wanted to establish a colonial empire to cement their great power status.

Warfare and armed conflicts: a statistical encyclopedia of casualty and other figures, 1492-2015.