If we were to ask ourselves whether the fighters who were mostly Muslim, were really united by the propagation of religion, we might be bewildered at the answer. We should always remember that in any society or grouping of people there are conflicts between the interests of the few and those of the majority. In the Eritrean struggle which then was not based on a correct political line the few opportunists increased their ranks in number and embarked upon a struggle for personal power. They cultivated differences and discord and aggravated them increasingly. They became increasingly preoccupied with the devising of schemes aimed at gratifying their lust for power; and they decided that they sound an effective tool in the ethnic differences among the fighters in the field. Thus in an effort to capitalize on them, they magnified these minor contradictions and then used them to manipulate the liberation forces. This corrupt pursuit of personal aggrandizement eventually led to dissensions within the front.
The bosses who enjoyed a luxurious life outside of Eritrea had the capacity to conceal their true selfish interests. Nevertheless, they felt the need to make empty gestures to solve the problem. For that purpose they temporarily left their seats in the foreign countries and went to the fields where, around the end of 1965, they divided the forces into four groups. Their main purpose behind this measure was to quell down their agents in the field, who instigated the ethnic dissensions, and to further expand their followings and consolidate their forces. The professed reason for dividing the forces was that it would facilitate the setting up of more zones of operation and would enable more Eritreans to come into contact with the ideals of the movement and join it. But this kind of operational framework could be soundly devised only after a thorough study of the concrete conditions of Eritrean society, the accurate identification of the opportune timing and the careful consideration of all political and military strategies. This was the kind of undertaking which required serious and thorough study and planning; it was thus meaningless to assign a division for Barka, a division for Senhit, another division for Hamasien, Serae and Akele Guzai, and another for Semhar and Denkel. Such a division of an already small force, without making the requisite study, serves no nationalist or revolutionary purpose. It is, thus, clear that this measure was intended to promote the selfish interests of those few individuals.