Ethiopian Troops Arrive in Korea

League sanctions and international condemnation had failed to prevent Italy's conquest of Ethiopia in the 1930s. After North Korea attacked South Korea in June 1950, the United States intervened under United Nations authority, and other governments supplied forces to the command. [1] [2]

The first Ethiopian Kagnew contingent arrived in Korea on 7 May 1951. Its deployment placed Ethiopian soldiers inside the United Nations Command during a war fought far from the Horn of Africa. [3]

According to the command’s history, the men trained in Ethiopia and then with American forces before entering combat with U.S. equipment. They served with the 32nd Infantry Regiment of the American 7th Infantry Division. Successive contingents continued Ethiopia’s contribution after the first unit returned home. [3]

Ethiopian officials later placed Korea alongside their country’s participation in the United Nations operation in the Congo. In a 1960 conversation with President Eisenhower, foreign minister Aklilou Habte-Wold presented these commitments as part of Ethiopia’s support for collective security. [4]

Aklilou's account of Ethiopia's contribution accompanied requests for economic and military cooperation. [3] [4]

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