Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
May 31, 1991

Early morning on an Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) command post in front of the city hall building.

In late May 1991 the long civil war in Ethiopia came to a climax when the alliance of four rebel groups, the EPRDF, toppled the authoritarian government of Mengistu Haile-Mariam and took control of Addis Ababa and the nation. The governing regime declared a cease-fire and fled.

In July 1991 the 24 different groups met in the capital and established a multi-party provisional government headed by Meles Zenawi, the Tigray Rebel Leader, to lead the country to its first free elections within two years.