Ethiopia has stepped up pressure on the country’s resistant northern Tigris region by shifting local leadership from a newly centralized administration.
The move comes amid clashes between Tigrayan and national military forces that have led Africa’s second-most populous nation to analysts say it could be a protracted and bloody civil war.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate end to tensions and a peaceful resolution of the dispute, but there has been little willingness on both sides to talk.
In a statement on Saturday, Abiya Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for ending a long-running conflict with neighboring Eritrea, said “criminal elements cannot escape the rule of law under the guise of seeking reconciliation and calling for dialogue.” .
“The purpose of our operation is to end the long-running impunity and apprehend individuals and groups responsible under land laws.” Abi said.
A vote by the upper house of parliament on Saturday now gives Abiyan the power to change the Tigre leadership, whose government is illegitimate.
Tigre said in a statement posted on the government’s Facebook page that it would win the “fair” war, adding that “fighters will not communicate with their enemies.”
Revolution
The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) defeated Colonel Mangistu Hail Miriam, who had ruled the country since 1974. The coalition group is led by the Tigre People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), guerrilla fighters who fled their homeland. The capital of northern Ethiopia is Addis Ababa.
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia made the announcement
The EPRDF rides to power in poorly contested elections and the TPLF leader, Meles Zenawi, becomes Ethiopia’s prime minister. The Tigris dominate senior government positions.
Specific unionism
The Mails represent a system that allows the country’s major ethnic groups to rule in their territory. Although the Tigris make up as much as%% of the population, they benefit disproportionately, other areas complain, as roads and other infrastructure are built in their sparsely populated area.
Mele dies
The prime minister dies and a successor to the second ethnic group is appointed.
ERPDF split
Departments in the EPRDF have erupted over how to speed up political reforms in response to street protests threatening to grip the coalition.
Abiya Ahmed comes to power
Abi Ahmed of Rome took over as Prime Minister and was praised at home and abroad for opening one of Africa’s most restrictive political and economic systems.
Crackdown
The Tigris complain that they are being harassed against corruption and past abuses. A hearing of former senior military and political officials is being conducted.
Peace prize
Abijah has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his peaceful efforts, which ended two decades of hostilities with Eritrea. The TPLF continues to view Eritrea as an enemy.
Sections
Ethiopia’s ruling coalition has agreed to form a single party, but the TPLF has refused to join the other three ethnic-based parties, calling the move quick and democratic.
Election row
Tigre held regional elections in defamation of the federal government, which postponed the August nationwide polls due to Covid-19. Abi’s government says the vote is illegal.
Funds withheld
The federal government is starting to cut off some funding for social welfare programs in Tigre, as part of a plan to starve regional officials of cash in exchange for votes.
The fight breaks out
TPLF Allegedly attacking federal forces located in the region. The TPLF accused Abi of punishing the region for the September vote. Reuters
“The people of Tigre are now equipped with modern weapons that can reach a meeting of atheists,” he added, referring to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
In Tigre, the prime minister launched a military operation on Wednesday after accusing local leaders of the Tigre People’s Liberation Front (TPL) of attacking a military base and attempting to loot military property.
The TPLF has denied the attack and accused Abi of using the story to justify the military deployment.
Addis Ababa diplomats say there have been casualties on both sides, but no reports or confirmation of the reports have been received due to the cut off internet and phone connections in Tigre.
Experts and diplomats are watching in frustration as two heavily armed forces clash in Horn Africa, one of the world’s most strategically yet sensitive areas. Observers warn that a civil war in Ethiopia could destabilize fragile neighbors such as Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia, Africa’s second most populous country with 115 million people.
The TBLF dominated the country’s military and government for nearly 300 years, while Abi took power in 2018. However, the pressure exerted by the new 44-year-old prime minister in his first month in power pushed the TPLF to the margins, and it collapsed last year when Abia tried to turn the coalition into a party called Prosperity.
Tensions in the Tigre region have risen in recent weeks over objections to the delay in national elections until the year after the Covid-19 outbreak, when the federal government held a local poll in September that was deemed illegal.
Fighting broke out early Wednesday when Abi accused TPLF forces of attacking a military base in Tigre. In a statement issued Friday, Abi announced that Tigre had “completely destroyed rockets and other heavy weapons” in air strikes around the capital, making counter-attacks impossible.
The prime minister said the military operation would continue, and he warned the people of Tigre: “In order not to pose an unexpected risk, I would advise you to limit the group’s activities in the cities.”
The Tigre region is home to a large number of federal military personnel and many of its equipment, a legacy of Ethiopia’s 1998-2000 border war with its northern neighbor Eritrea.
Some analysts estimate that the Tigers could collect more than half of the total personnel and mechanized divisions of the armed forces, meaning both sides could not trust a quick victory.
Experts fear a long and devastating conflict that “could already occupy the Ethiopian state through many serious political challenges, and could send shockwaves … even further.”
“Many Ethiopians feared that war was possible but hoped that it would never happen … unless it was stopped immediately. [it] The international crisis group said in a briefing on Thursday that it would be disastrous not only for the country but for the horn of the whole of Africa.
Aid groups warn of possible humanitarian catastrophe.
“We are deeply concerned that military growth in northern Ethiopia could lead to a massive humanitarian crisis in which people have been displaced from their homes and are unable to meet their basic needs,” said Katia Sori, head of the delegation to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Cross in Ethiopia.
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