Even though there was a continuous flow of highlanders into the armed struggle, their number did not still equal that of the Muslims. Highlanders joined the various divisions of the front in the course of fulfilling their role as Eritreans; however, they came to sense the tint of ethnicism and regionalism in the set-up of "Jebha". With the idea that an ethnic group can most effectively be dealt with by those who are its members, it was decided that the various divisions should be headed by individuals who are natives of their respective regions of assignment.
But the division for the Christian highlands of Hamasien, Serae, and Akele Guzai was led by a Muslim from the Saho. The Christian highlanders thought that this was not in accordance with the adopted policy: this awareness led to their discontent and complaints. The bosses of "Jebha", true to their tendency to put their selfish interests in the forefront, decided that the discontent that prevailed among the highlanders in the field would be quelled by setting up a division of Christian fighters under the leadership of a Christian. Thus in 1966 they organized the Fifth Division by extracting forces from the four divisions, chopping the Third Division in Hamasien province, and installing a Christian lackey as its head. By compounding their mistakes, they only aggravated the problem they had caused a year earlier.