In March 1936 he was sent to Italian Somaliland to command the Special Infantry Division "Laghi" during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. There, he occupied the area of the equatorial area and defeated the Ethiopian "ras" Desta Damtew. In October 1936 he became governor of the area, now the Galla-Sidamo Governorate, as well as commander of the local Italian garrison. For his service, he was promoted to divisional general in December and received a further Military Order of Savoy. He remained at that position until 1938. His violent suppression of Ethiopian resistance, particularly in the wake of a failed assassination attempt on Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani in February 1937, led to him being listed as a war criminal by the Ethiopian government, which attempted to have him extradited to Ethiopia after the Second World War.