Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
Eritrea has been ruled by Isaias Afewerki since its independence in 1993 from Ethiopia, following a 30-year independence war. Initially allied with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and his Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, whom Isaias' Eritrean People's Liberation Front had helped overthrow the communist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam, border disputes caused relations between the two nations to rapidly turn sour, and in May 1998, Ethiopia invaded Eritrea. The resultant conflict killed between 70,000-100,000 on both sides, and left Eritrea with over a third of its territory occupied and over 650,000 people displaced. Although Eritrea was awarded most of the disputed territory by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Ethiopia, as of 2017, still occupies most of the disputed land.