60 officials of the imperial government of
Haile Selassie
Outcome
Executed
The Massacre of the Sixty, or Black Saturday (
Amharic: ጥቁሩ ቅዳሜ, tikuru kidami), was an
execution that took place in
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia commissioned by the
Derg government against 60 imprisoned former government officials at
Kerchele Prison on the morning of 23 November 1974.[1][2] The prison was commonly called Alem Bekagn – "I've had enough of this world".
The
Ethiopian Revolution started about ten weeks before the massacre. Before this point, the Derg was able to instill hope among the people that the revolution could remain bloodless.[3] Epitomised by the slogan "Ityopiya tikdem, yala mimin dem” – “Ethiopia first, without any bloodshed”.[3]