Italian conquest of the Horn of Africa (1924–1940) Italian conquest of the Horn of Africa (1924–1940) The Italian conquest of the Horn of Africa was initiated in 1924 by the fascist government of Italy under Benito Mussolini. With great brutality, Somalia had been totally pacified by late 1927. In 1935, Mussolini launched an invasion of Ethiopia. By mid-1936, the Italian troops controlled the entire territory. 1,757 Italians and 1,593 Eritreans were killed in the brief war. More than 275,000 Ethiopians were killed. In 1940, Italian troops invaded British Somaliland, expelling the British. The Italians also occupied the bordering Kenya areas along the Oltregiuba, around the villages of Moyale
Horn of Africa Cinnamonifora due to the aromatic plants, or Regio Incognita owing to its unchartered territory. Shell middens 125,000 years old have been found in Eritrea, indicating the diet of early humans included seafood obtained by beachcombing. According to both genetic and fossil evidence, archaic Homo sapiens evolved into anatomically modern humans solely in the Horn of Africa between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago and have dispersed from the Horn of Africa. The recognition of "Homo sapien idaltu" as a valid subspecies of the anatomically modern human lineage would justify the description of contemporary humans with the subspecies name "H. s. sapiens".