Understanding the complex conflict in Ethiopia as the ENDF prepares the assault on TDF
NAIROBI, Kenya – For decades Ethiopia has been under a dictatorial rule primarily as a reason why conflict was rare, and even in its presence it was generally small in scale compared to what the world is currently experiencing.
Since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018, the country has first experienced real democratic gains, but which have since been watered down but also ethnic cleansing, arbitrary detentions and political assassinations as in the case of musician Hachalu Hundeesa.
For most of 2019, clashes erupted between the Oromo ethnic group where Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is from and the Amhara people, who control most of the neighborhoods in the capital, Addis Ababa. Thousands of young people, especially those in universities, have been killed.
The situation was so dire that apparently, the heart of Ahmed, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, caused him to order the arrest of people in his backyard in Oromia. Jawar Mohamed, the media entrepreneur is perhaps one of the most prominent politicians to be arrested.
While Ahmed now struggles to impose his authority in the Horn of Africa country, the elections originally scheduled for 2020 may have sparked further rifts in the country. The National Election Council of Ethiopia [NEBE] postponed the election until this year, in June.
However, the movement did not go well with the Tigray Defense Forces. [TDF] who controlled the Tigray region for a long time even under previous regimes. The faction held elections contrary to Addis Ababa’s will.
ENDF faces TDF
TDF’s attack on the northern command sparked the war, leading to a deadly operation that lasted nearly eight months from November 2020. In the conflict, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] received reinforcements from Amhara regional forces and Eritrean troops.
Earlier this month, TDF declared victory over ENDF but Addis Ababa maintained that the withdrawal from several parts of Tigray was informed by pressure from the international community to allow humanitarian access to Tigray in addition to the high costs. of the operation.
But a determined TDF is closing even in the territories of Amhara and Afar, a strategy intended to suffocate Addis Ababa in terms of supplies from Djibouti. Ethiopia has apparently suspended the ceasefire, with analysts still warning that the ENDF will always lose to TDF.
Clashes between ENDF and TDF could ignite in the coming weeks after several young people were recruited from different parts of the country for special training. They should be deployed in the Tigray region to face the relentless TDF.
On Tuesday, thousands of Addis Ababa residents, patriots, veterans and senior government officials bid farewell to recruits from all of the capital’s sub-cities joining the national army.
Addressing the rallies, Addis Ababa Deputy Mayor Adanech Abiebie praised the youth for quickly responding to the government’s call to join the ongoing struggle to defend the nation’s sovereignty.
She further urged the inhabitants of Addis Ababa from the Tigray region not to be deceived by the propaganda of the TPLF junta and to contribute to the safeguard of the population of Tigray against the aggression of the terrorist group. .
Representatives of patriots and veterans called on recruits to draw inspiration from the bravery and bravery of ancestors and ancestors who feel proud to bravely brave traitors who conspire to dismantle the nation.
This is an indication that the federal army will always be confronted with TDF, making the Tigray crisis even more unpredictable. For its part, TDF warned against any penetration, pledging to take severe measures against those who could “encroach on our territory”.
TDF conflict with Amhara
Even with the determination of the federal army to silence the TDF, the Tigray fighters are pursuing the Amhara regional forces. Amhara regional forces are accused of helping the ENDF along with Eritrean troops rule over TDF in Tigray earlier this year, committing genocide in the process.
The Ethiopian state of Amhara on Sunday called on “all young people” to take up arms against the Tigrayan fighters fighting the federal government army and forces from the nine other Ethiopian regions.
The call for a mass mobilization against TDF fighters – who Amhara’s army says were now attacking the state – expands the eight-month-old war and instability in the Horn of the Congo country. Africa.
“I call on all young people, militiamen, non-militiamen in the region, armed with any government weapon, armed with personal weapons, to join the anti-TPLF war mission from tomorrow,” Agegnehu Teshager said. , chairman of the Amhara regional government. as state media in the region say.
Calls to TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda for comment were not answered.
This week, the Tigrayans pushed their offensive towards Afar, their neighboring state in the east, where they said they plan to target troops from the Amhara region fighting alongside the Federal Army in the region.
Afar is a strategic region for landlocked Ethiopia as the main road and railway line connecting the capital, Addis Ababa, to the seaport of Djibouti cross it. TDF wants to cut rail and road links to Djibouti, further blocking imports and exports from Ethiopia.
Amhara Special Forces Commander Brigadier General Tefera Mamo was quoted by state media in the region on Saturday as saying the war has spread to the state.
“The terrorist group has started a war in the Amhara and Afar regions and is also harassing Ethiopians,” Tefera said, referring to TDF. “Amhara’s special forces are fighting in coordination with other security forces.”
Thousands of people have died in the fighting, around 2 million have been displaced and more than 5 million depend on emergency food aid. The government had temporarily blocked the access of emergency teams to Tigray according to TDF officials in Mekelle.
Afar troubles with the Somali region
As the TDF pushes towards Afar territory, another conflict erupts between the region and neighboring Somalis. Both regions have been supportive of Abiy Ahmed’s current administration.
On Tuesday, fighting broke out in the town of GarbaIssa, Sitti zone of the Somali region between herders and Afar militias. Since last week, there have been tensions between the two regions according to reports.
Before the chaos on Tuesday, several sources suggested to Axadlethat dozens of civilians were killed in the town of GarbaIssa, in the western area of Sitti, in the Somali region of Ethiopia, by the heavily armed special police forces. of Afar Regional State.
At least hundreds of people have been killed and two thousand others have been displaced. Over the past three years, residents of the region have faced massacres from the same period. It is not known why Afar troops attack the local Somali population in Ethiopia, but ethnic clashes are now becoming commonplace in Ethiopia.
This time, however, it is more devastating due to TDF activities in the neighboring Afar region, where the Prosperity Party-led government fears local Somali civilians will support them. Somali civilians are said to be concerned about the ENDF attacks on TDF.
Already, TDF has made it clear that it will prosecute Amhara regional forces and ENDF troops accused of carrying out a massacre in Tigray. Authorities in Addis Ababa have also issued statements signaling the end of the ceasefire in Tigray, where TDF has since taken over many towns.
AXADLETM
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