 Various opposition groups of ideological affiliations ranging from Marxist-Leninist to anti-communist, often drawn from ethnic minorities, began armed resistance to the Soviet-backed Derg, in addition to the Eritrean separatists already fighting in the Eritrean War of Independence.The Derg used military campaigns and the Qey Shibir (Ethiopian Red Terror) to repress the rebels.By the mid-1980s, various issues such as the 1983–1985 famine, economic decline and other after-effects of Derg policies ravaged Ethiopia, increasing popular support for the rebels.