The Black Lions were a resistance movement formed to fight against Italian occupation of the Ethiopian Empire.
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The Black Lions dominated the early resistance movement in Ethiopia. Members of the Black Lions included students from the Oletta Military Academy and foreign-educated Ethiopians. The military academy was founded in 1935 and is located in Holeta Genet.
The Black Lions convinced Ras Imru Haile Selassie to join them in the armed struggle since he was part of the dynamics that created the movement. Ras Imru was appointed by Emperor Haile Selassie as Prince Regent in his absence. Ras Imru was to reorganize and continue to resist the Italians. To do this, he fell back to Gore in southern Ethiopia. On 19 December 1936, after the Italians pinned him down on the north bank of the Gojeb River, Ras Imru surrendered. The Black Lions organization then collapsed, and many of its members were liquidated.