Amba Aradam

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Amba Aradam is an amba situated to the South of Mek'ele and 100 km to North of Addis Abeba in Ethiopia, in the zone of the Debra Behan. The mount is famous from the Battle of Enderta that the Italians fought in order to capture Amba Aradam on 15 February 1936, and for the slaughter that happened three years after, in order to repress the Ethiopian resistance.

This latter episode was part of the largest of a series than military operations carried out against the Ethiopian resistance. Between the April 9th to 11th, 1939, a caravan of partisans led by Abebe Aregai, leader of the movement of the Ethiopian resistance, was in the at the mount of Amba Aradam where they sheltered in the Amezena Washa (Cavern of the Rebels). The caravan was composed from members of the resistance, but also of their relatives, the wounded, and other refugee women, children and elderly.

On 9 April 1939, the chemical platoon of the Granatieri di Sardegna Division attacked the partisans of Aregai using bombs with poison gas. Only fifteen persons succeeded in escaping from the cave. The greater part of the refugees died. Those who continued the resistance inside the cave were killed with flamethrowers. The extent of the cave made it difficult to explore for the remaining members of the resistance that were still were sheltered within. The Italian military command therefore gave the order to seal it with explosives^[1] :

Si prevede che fetore cadaveri et carogne impediscano portare at termine esplorazione caverna che in questo sarà ostruita facendo brillare mine

—Telegramma del Governo Generale