Background
The EPLF was an egalitarian movement in which 30% of the fighters were women. Its influence in the extremely patriarchal and conservative Eritrean society was significant.
EPLF and ELF first struggled during the Eritrean Civil War. In the early 1980s, new armed conflicts between the rival EPLF and ELF led to the latter being marginalized and pushed into neighboring Sudan. The EPLF remained the only relevant opposition to Ethiopian occupation in Eritrea.
The EPLF captured many Ethiopian soldiers during the war for independence and kept them in numerous prisoner of war camps, although their captured soldiers were not afforded the same treatment. Due to the humanitarian ethic of the EPLF however, these POWs were not harmed by their captors.
During its protracted struggle the EPLF constructed an underground hospital. In these hospitals surgeries were conducted as well as the production of various medicines. The front also constructed schools in the liberated areas. In 1988, the EPLF started an attack from the northern province of Sahel towards the south. The (nominally) Marxist EPLF emerged as the dominant rebel force and continued the struggle for independence. In 1991 the EPLF succeeded in liberating Eritrea on May 24, 1991.
Read more about this topic: Eritrean People's Liberation Front
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