Dangerous escalation – Ethiopia: Prime Minister Ahmed sends army – News

11/04/2020 Switzerland



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  • Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has launched a military offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
  • Before Ahmed took office as prime minister in 2018, the People’s Liberation Front determined political events in Ethiopia for decades.
  • Observers warn that this could be the beginning of a civil war in Ethiopia.

Following an attack by a political group on the armed forces in Ethiopia, the government feels “compelled to enter a military confrontation.” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office accused the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) of attacking a military base in the Tigray region on Wednesday.

So far, the government has tried to avoid a military conflict with the TPLF. “The last red line was crossed with the attacks and the federal government is thus forced into a military confrontation,” said Ahmed.

Abiy ahmed

Legend:

According to Abiy Ahmed, after a political group attacked the armed forces, they were “forced into a military confrontation”.

Reuters

According to local television station Tigray TV, the region’s airspace has been closed. Internet and telephone connection in Tigray were partially disrupted.

Tensions have been building between the TPLF and the national government for months. The TPLF was the dominant party in the coalition that ruled Ethiopia for more than 25 years.

Correspondent: “The situation is extremely dangerous”

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Anna Lemmenmeier, a correspondent for SRF Africa, watches the situation from neighboring Kenya. It is still not clear much, even if the attack on the military base actually took place. However, it is clear that the TPLF feels marginalized and that tensions in Ethiopia have increased since Abiy Ahmed’s electoral victory in 2018. “When he became prime minister, he severely restricted his influence in the ruling coalition, in favor of others. sectors of the population “.

This is considered one of Ahmed’s greatest merits. At the same time, however, the lines of conflict had intensified, eventually leading to the TPLF’s withdrawal from the government. Since then, all signs point to a confrontation with the central government. Things are boiling in other regions of Ethiopia too. “Since Ahmed came to power, ethnic conflicts in the country have fundamentally increased,” reports Lemmenmeier. The current development is extremely dangerous.

Given these tensions, can Prime Minister Ahmed’s Nobel Peace Prize be justified? According to the correspondent, the “Abiy mania” is met with widespread skepticism in the country. But you have to consider that the prime minister has to hold together a huge multi-ethnic state with more than 80 ethnic groups and languages. But also in terms of foreign policy, the prime minister is in place, for example in relation to Eritrea and Egypt, with which the country is currently in a shutdown for a major dam project.

That changed when Abiy came to power in 2018; initiated reforms, dismissed old guard officials, and founded a new party, which was not joined by the TPLF, represented in the previous coalition.

The TPLF and many people in Tigray do not feel represented by the national government and want more autonomy. The TPLF is currently the ruling party in the Tigray region.

In the multi-ethnic state of Ethiopia, with about 112 million inhabitants, there is great tension between ethnic and political groups. Abiy received the Nobel Peace Prize last year, primarily for making peace with his rival Eritrea. However, tensions and conflicts in Ethiopia have increased during the Abiy government.

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