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
Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict capital Addis Ababa. The occupied country was annexed into the Italian East African colony together with the other Italian east African colonies. On 10June 1940, Italy declared war on Britain and France; in March 1941 Britain began a campaign to capture the Italian-held territory in the region. By November, the British had occupied the whole Italian East African colony. However thousands Italian soldiers started a guerrilla warfare in their former colony which lasted until October 1943. Ethiopia regained its independence, and Eritrea was placed under Britain military administration. After the war there was a debate as to what would happen