Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1993 Eritrea formally gained independence from Ethiopia after a 30-year armed struggle, a date it celebrates as Independence Day.
Sources: U.S. Department of State ; African Union
Independence
Ceiling of Debre Birhan Selassie church, Gondar, Ethiopia. Photo: Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence · Source
On this day: May 24 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1993 
Sam Effron from Brooklyn!, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 1991 Israel conducted Operation Solomon, airlifting over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in under 36 hours.
Sources: U.S. Government Publishing Office (Public Papers of the Presidents) ; American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)
History
Unknown - Toesprake deur sy hoog-edeagbare JC Smuts, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1870 Jan Smuts, the South African statesman who twice served as prime minister and helped found the League of Nations and United Nations, was born.
Sources: South African History Online ; Encyclopedia.com
BirthBritain formally annexed the Orange Free State during the Second Boer War in South Africa.
Sources: Internet Archive (L. S. Amery, The Times History of the War in South Africa, vol. VII) ; South African History Online
HistoryIssah Gabriel Ahmed, Ghanaian footballer, was born.
Sources: 11v11.com (Association of Football Statisticians) ; National Football Teams
Birth