# Ethiopian Republican Guard

The Ethiopian Republican Guard (ERG; Amharic: የሪፐብሊካን ጠባቂ, romanized: lit, lit. 'yerīpebilīkani t’ebak’ī') is an elite praetorian guard unit and the special forces branch of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF). It is tasked with providing protection to the Prime Minister and top government officials in Ethiopia and specializes in special operations.

## History

Ethiopia had an Imperial Guard during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, but the Derg disestablished it in 1974. Since 1991, Ethiopian leaders and officials have been protected by security details assigned by the Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS). The security arrangement did not, however, form a force specifically dedicated to this task.
Weeks after becoming Prime Minister Republican guard members from other stations stormed the Prime Minister's residence and demanded a pay raise, the prime ministers' republican guards stationed to him were outnumbered by the hundreds: the prime minister then did pushups to lessen the tension and that made the demanding guards enjoy the pushups with the PM, and they left the palace they later were arrested. Later some members of the Republican Guard apologized for protesting and demanding a pay raise to the Prime Minister. The then Federal Police Commissioner said about the protest raid "They raised issues related to their living conditions, low pay and a dismal benefits package and demanded to meet the prime minister," the guards who raided the PM residence were estimated to be around 250, the guards were ordered to do 10 pushups whom the Prime Minister also led himself. They were invited to dinner then let go out of the residence of the Prime Minister.
The Republican Guard have also been involved with operations in Tigray region after rebels rebelled against the federal government. The Republican Guard were able for a brief period able to control the capital city of the northmost state of Ethiopia for a couple weeks till the Commander in Chief of the Ethiopian Armed forces Abiy Ahmed ordered all troops to leave the regional state as a whole forcing the Republican Guard that conducted special operations to leave the area. But whilst they were on the grounds, they have been able to capture high level rebel officials who served as leading the rebel group for decades. One of these is Sebhat Nega the one of the founding members of the TPLF rebel group: which served as the leading political party in Ethiopia for 27 years. The Guard had to fight multiple rebels and go through mountains to catch these high-level leaders of the TPLF. With the Airforce they flied over the rebels to Addis Ababa and gave them to the Ethiopian Federal Police Forensic Investigation Team.

## Mission

The Republican Guard is tasked with defending the Ethiopia's constitution and constitutional order, specifically by protecting the highest level of Ethiopian leadership from threats and attempted attacks. In its specific objective, the Republican Guard is mandated to use any means necessary.

## Organization

The Republican Guard is its own independent branch within the ENDF and separate from the Ethiopian Ground Forces, and answerable only to the Prime Minister.
At the time of its establishment, the Chief Commander of the Republican Guard was Brigadier General Birhanu Jula, later replaced by Major General Berhanu Bekele.
According to Michael Schmidt, the Guard is mostly staffed by soldiers of ethnic Oromo descent.

### Branches

As of 2021, the Republican Guard is structured on four different branches, tasked with various missions. The bulk of the Republican Guard members is tasked with protecting VIPs.
* Counter Military Unit: the Counter Military Unit is a militarily uniformed unit inside the Republican Guard that carries heavy assault rifles such as Tavor-21 and American M-4's and other heavy weapons such as long range snipers that can penetrate bullet proof glass.
* Republican Guard Special Force: the Republican Guard Special Force is tasked with protecting any high level locations that are militarily, economically, and of national security importance such as Headquarters of the ENDF generals and high military officials.
* Republican Guard Military Police: the Military Police is tasked with dealing with security issue should the Federal Police fail.

## Training and equipment

The Republican Guard are armed with the Israeli-made Tavor Tar-21 and CAR 816 assault rifles, and long range snipers. The Republican Guard also uses helicopters like the Mi-8 and Mi-17 as well as armored vehicles like the BRDM-2 and WZ-551 to protect the Prime minister and President of Ethiopia. They carry hidden guns and use in ear communication. They participate in both special forces and airborne operations and are estimated to be in the thousands.

## Authority

Under Regulation No. 426-2018 Which states "The Guard shall have the following powers and duties: prepare and submit procedures and standards, and implement same up on approval by the Prime Minister; prepare and submit to the Prime Minister Office, directives related to human resource recruitment, training, periodic evaluation, transfer and dismissal, and implement same upon approval; in coordination with the Ministry and appropriate organs recruit, train, employ and deploy appropriate human resources equip itself with materials, vehicles, weapons, and appropriate technologies that comply with international standards and important for the execution of the mission; without prejudice to sub-article (4) of this Article, whenever necessary, request and obtain appropriate provisional support from other organs; ensure security of the Prime Minister and their family members, and Head of State and Deputy Prime Minister and their family members; without prejudice to sub-article (6) of this Article the protection extends to the outgoing Prime Ministers and his family, outgoing Head of State and Deputy Prime Minister and their families; and it does not include appointee with the Rank of Deputy Prime Minister; provide protection to the visiting foreign Heads of State and Government, Heads of International Organizations and individuals having such status; provide gourd of honor services; conduct studies prepare and submit to the Prime Minister necessary structure and units that help for the accomplishment of mission and implement same upon approval; take necessary measures to ensure the security of head of states and governments; own property, enter into contract, sue and be sued in its own name; undertake other related activities that are supporting the attainment of its objectives." The Guard carry out law enforcement operations in parts of the country.