Siege of Saïo the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, proclaimed the colony of "Africa Orientale Italiana" (AOI, Italian East Africa), formed from Ethiopia (after the Italian victory in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, fought 3 October 1935 – May 1936) and the existing Italian possessions of Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. On 10 June 1940, Mussolini declared war on Britain and France, which made Italian military forces in Libya a threat to Egypt and those in Italian East Africa a danger to the British and French colonies in East Africa. Italian belligerence also closed the Mediterranean to Allied merchant ships and endangered British supply routes
Italian Ethiopia Italian Ethiopia Ethiopia was occupied by Italy in 1936 and became a part of the Italian colony Italian East Africa, with capital Addis Abeba. Italian Ethiopia was proclaimed in 1936 following the second Italo-Ethiopian War, with Victor Emmanuel III proclaiming himself Emperor of Ethiopia. The occupation lasted until the end of 1941, when Ethiopia was liberated from Italian control by a combination of British, Commonwealth, Free French, Free Belgian and Ethiopian forces. Since May 1936 Italian Ethiopia was part of the newly created "Africa Orientale Italiana" (AOI), or Italian East Africa, and administratively was made of four governorates: Governorate of