Mengistu Haile Mariam
In 1976, open clashes between members of the two largest Marxist-Leninist organizations began in the country. They grew into the murders of supporters of Mengistu Haile Mariam and government employees. Thus, trade union leaders Theodoros Bekel and Themeslin Medé were killed. In September 1976, activists of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party attacked Mengistu Haile Mariam himself, which enraged the latter.