[249] On September 27, an airstrike allegedly carried out by Eritrea struck the northern town of Adi Dairo while it was celebrating Meskel, killing at least six civilians and injured 19 more. the murder of saudi journalist and regime critic jamal khashoggi in the saudi consulate in turkey in october 2018, almost certainly at the orders of crown prince mohammed bin salman (mbs), caused an international uproar, and sharpened attention on the saudi role in the war in yemen, and on the impact of the war on civilians- including creating "[56][57] However, the TPLF stated soon afterwards that it would continue fighting until the "invaders" were out,[58][59] and on 28 June 2021, the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) retook Mekelle; by July the same year, they had also advanced into the Amhara and Afar regions. Meanwhile, Eritrean troops still occupy parts of the region, despite calls for . The US has abandoned Ethiopia. Since November 2020, a complex and tragic civil war has raged in the Tigray region of Ethiopia pitting Tigrayans, led by Ethiopia's former ruling elite, against Ethiopia's federal government and. Finally, the landlocked nation of Ethiopia borders Djibouti, where many big powers like the US and China have established military bases. But since June 2021, the Ethiopian army has endured continued setbacks and has been forced to withdraw from Tigray. [368][369] In late July 2021, a report emerged that there was coordination in social media messaging and media reportage of the conflict in Ethiopia, to an extent it mirrored an earlier Syrian hybrid information campaign designated as Project Basma. [259][260] Ethiopian forces then took Alamata and Korem in the south. "Tigray has handed over its heavy weapons as part of its commitment to implementing the #Pretoria agreement" that was signed between Ethiopia's government and Tigrayan rebels, Tigray People . It is pushing a misleading narrative that projects the Tigray fighters as victims and the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as some sort of an aggressor. "[124], Just before midnight on 3 November 2020, Tigray Special Forces and allied local militia attacked the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) Northern Command headquarters in Mekelle, the Fifth Battalion barracks in Dansha, and other Northern Command bases. Photo: Clara Margais/dpa, 17 January 2023, United Kingdom, Wolverhampton: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah warms up during the English FA Cup third round replay soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool at Molineux Stadium. Tigray rebels start handing over heavy weapons. Today, the US may project Abiy Ahmed as some sort of a strongman but the fact remains that Ethiopians like him. and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team, This website uses cookies. The EPRDF government led the country through periodic drought and famine, and the 1998-2000 border war with northern neighbor Eritrea. [171][53] This resulted in the TDF growing in strength and the concept of secession from Ethiopia gaining popularity in Tigray, a stance which was considered likely to inflame Amhara-Tigray territorial disputes. It is the second-most populous nation in the African Continent and an ambitious one at that. [280], There have been multiple unconfirmed reports of Somali troops being sent from a secret training base in Eritrea run by the National Intelligence and Security Agency to fight against the newly formed TDF. Michael Makuei refutes the claims saying that South Sudan is not involved in the northern Tigray region violence and has no interest in such an intervention. But activists are spreading the news", "From Basma to Ethiopia How C2FC is Using Lethal Journalism to Conduct Information Warfare and Lawfare against Ethiopia", "Ethiopia: Diaspora Community to Debunk Fake News Using Mainstream Media", "Ethiopia's Tigray crisis: Fact-checking misleading images", "These old images do not show recent protests in Ethiopia's Tigray region", "Facebook 'lets vigilantes in Ethiopia incite ethnic killing', "Facebook is under new scrutiny for it's [sic] role in Ethiopia's conflict", "Facebook knew it was being used to incite violence in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian army chief Birhanu Jula accused that small groups within the Sudanese government work for a third party to drag the two countries into war over the border. Only 16% of the health facilities had vaccination services and only 17% had maternal services (antenatal care, birth delivery, etc.). The Ethiopian forces are quite clearly winning the war against the TPLF despite the US imposing, on the East African nation. Tigrayan rebels have killed more than 150 civilians in the Amhara region on suspicion of being informants or offering aid to federal forces, the government-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights . The fighters havemanaged to recruitalliesand areapproaching the capital, Addis Ababa. Throughout the 1980s the TPLFemerged as a formidable challenger to Ethiopia's then Marxist military dictatorship. They are likely to face resistance from other Ethiopians who fear the return to power of a party that ruled the country for nearly three decades. NAIROBI Kenya's former president, Uhuru Kenyatta, will travel to Ethiopia's Tigray region to oversee monitoring of last month's peace deal. Ethiopia's government has declared a national state of emergency and ordered residents of Addis Ababa to prepare to defend their neighborhoods. The country is looking to industrialise. World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been accused of supporting Tigray rebels TPLF in Ethiopia. [175] On 28 June 2021, the Tigray Defense Forces retook the city of Mekelle. The Biden administration talks of a. in Ethiopia, which really shows a desire to force a regime change in the East African nation. in Mekelle due to the ongoing airstrikes being carried out by the Ethiopian forces. His controversial campaign has seen warplanes bombing Tigray and heavy fighting, while the UN says a "full-scale humanitarian crisis" is unfolding, with 36,000 people having streamed into neighbouring Sudan, according to that country's refugee commission. They have also claimed the woredas (districts) of Welkait, Tegede, Kafta Humera, Tselemti, and Raya to be theirs. In fact, many of the Caracal International products are in service with a special Ethiopian force called the Republican Guard (RG), which is tasked with defending Ethiopian officials and key buildings. AFP. [173] The statement also confirmed reports of two massacres in Tigray, stating that 229 civilians were killed in the town of Mai Kadra at the beginning of November 2020, and accusing Eritrean forces of killing 110 civilians in Axum later that same month. [262][263][264] Witnesses from a number of towns told the Associated Press that Eritrean forces were regularly killing civilians between 23 and 29 October. [229] On 26 January, the Ethiopian council of ministers also proposed to end the state of emergency. [356][366] As of 2 February 2021, 20,000 of the Eritrean refugees in Tigray, mostly from the Hitsats and Shimelba camps, remained unaccounted for, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. [30] After a number of peace and mediation proposals in the intervening years, Ethiopia and the Tigrayan rebel forces agreed to a cessation of hostilities on 2 November, which went into effect the day after;[50] Eritrea was not a party to the agreement, however, and their status has remained unclear. The Ethiopian army accused Sudan of providing support to Tigray fighters who tried to infiltrate from the Mahalla area on the border between the two countries. [11][279][280][281][282] As early as December 2020, there were unconfirmed rumors that Emirati drones were being stationed in the Eritrean port city of Assab. [227][228], On 7 January the same day as the Dedebit airstrike Ethiopia released a number of opposition leaders from prison, including some from the TPLF, and said they desired to have a dialogue with the Tigrayan leadership. Along with that, an estimated 250 motorized water pumping systems have been out of order, and the status of 11,000 hand pumps in rural areas was unknown. (AAP Image/James Ross), 17 January 2023, Berlin: Activists walk the catwalk at a performance disguised as an Adidas show during Berlin Fashion Week. Abiy also reportedly imports drones from Iran and Turkey to use against Tigray's population, hospitals, and aid convoys. [156] The Tigray Defense Forces were engaged in a war of attrition with popular support from the people of Tigray, who were infuriated by war crimes committed by Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers and worried about a potential decrease in the region's autonomy. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. [182] A TDF offensive starting on 12 July resulted in Tigrayan forces capturing southern Tigray, including the towns of Alamata and Korem. [322][323] Such sexual violence is often accompanied with other forms of physical and mental abuse, including burning their victims with hot iron or cigarettes, forcing metal rods or nails into their victim's genitals,[323][315] raping their victim in front of their family members, forcing their victims to rape their family members, calling their victims by derogatory words and ethnic slurs, etc. [190], On 4 August 2021, some Agew people declared themselves independent from the Amhara Region and formed the Agew Liberation Front (ALF). . He pointed out that Sudan and its army do not interfere in the internal issues of neighboring Ethiopia, calling on the leadership in Addis Ababa to work on resolving their conflicts without dragging Khartoum in them. "[352][353] WHO officials stated that childhood vaccination rates had plummeted from 90% (before the war) to under 10%. to solve its own power problems and also those of its neigbours. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's national security adviser said the government had "accepted this invitation" while the leader of rebel-held . [153] The first of these reports came in January 2021 from unverified social media accounts. 45 of those cargo flights originated in the UAE while only six came from the Shiite nation of Iran. [312], Ethnic Tigrayan members of Ethiopian components of United Nations peacekeeping missions were disarmed and some forcibly flown back to Ethiopia, at the risk of torture or execution, according to United Nations officials. Ethiopia's government and rebels from the country's Tigray region said Wednesday they were ready to attend peace talks after the African Union invited both parties to negotiations in South Africa. Four other regional governments also made a call to arms. Abiy kicked off a military campaign in the Tigray region, known as Operation Law enforcement, andpromised to swiftly defeat the TPLF fighters. 53 12 January 2021", "Clandestine Training of Somali Forces in Eritrea Stirs Families' Concern", "Trauma, anger as Tigrayans recount Eritrea troops' 'grave crimes', "UN: Ethiopia may not have control of a large part of Tigray", "News Highlights Extra No. [240] Ethiopia and Eritrea subsequently announced an offensive in North Tigray on 1 September. USAs own allies are not with him. In late2019,Abiy disbanded the EPRDF coalition governmentand moved to create thenew Prosperity Party (PP). At the end of the day, Ethiopia is avoiding becoming a client State of any nation and is maintaining its strategic autonomy. All sides wished to secure a military victory, but they lacked the ability to do so in the near term, and so they began to prepare for a prolonged conflict. "He himself is a member of that group and he is a criminal," army chief of staff General Birhanu Jula said in a televised statement, before calling for him to be removed. The federal government had warned of "no mercy" if Tigray forces and residents remained intermingled. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is the biggest symbol of Ethiopias growing ambitions. [196], On 9 September 2021, the Ethiopian government claimed Tigrayan forces had been "routed" and heavily defeated in the Afar Region. Since our previous Tigray conflict article in February, the war in Ethiopia's Tigray state has undergone a major shift. "There is an outgoing confusion in the social media on the participation of the government of South Sudan in one way or the other supplying arms to the Ethiopian rebels," Makuei said. [112][113], The TPLF, led by its chairman Debretsion Gebremichael, rejected these measures, arguing that they were unconstitutional, and held its own regional election on 9 September, in defiance of the federal government. [67][68][69][70] Mass extrajudicial killings of civilians have taken place throughout, including in Axum,[71] Bora,[72] Chenna,[73][74] Kobo,[75][76] the Hitsats refugee camp,[77] Humera,[78] Mai Kadra,[69][79] the Debre Abay monastery,[72][80] and Zalambessa. [268] By 29 December, federal police were reported to have returned to Tigray,[269] while flights and internet access had also been restored. Russia has even signed a military cooperation agreement with Ethiopia. [154][53] This retreat was partially caused by the fact that a large portion of the TDF's artillery had been destroyed by air strikes. The Ethiopian forces are quite clearly winning the war against the TPLF despite the US imposing sanctions on the East African nation. [citation needed] In Debretsion Gebremichaels order to withdraw all his forces from Tigray borders in December 2021, he mentioned "the drones provided by foreign powers" as a major factor that prompted his decision. Fighting broke out in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region in November 2020 after the central government accused Tigrayan fighters of attacking a federal army base and sending forces to the region . By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. [334] On 25 June 2021, three Mdecins Sans Frontires workers were found murdered near their car in Tigray. This became apparent in the last two months after the Tigrayan rebels achieved major gains in the Tigray region by seizing key areas after the army withdrew. "[216] Many countries also urged citizens to leave the country.[216]. Conflict in Tigray: Ethiopia consolidates peace, precarious despite everything. Since the early 2000s, the Ethiopian economy has grown rapidly and has consistently clocked a GDP growth of over 10 percent. [107], The Ethiopian government and its supporters have accused the TPLF of trying to re-establish their rule over the country through violence and force. He is the one who got the Ethiopia-Eriteria peace deal concluded, which even the US had to acknowledge and Ahmed was also bestowed with the Nobel Peace Prize for the historic deal. Under Obama, the US promoted the Arab Spring in several Arab nations. [217][218][219][220] On 6 December, government forces claimed to have recaptured the strategic cities of Dessie and Kombolcha. The Biden administration has again found itself on the losing side this time in East Africas Ethiopia. Fighting is raging Ethipia since November 4 when Abiy attacked Tigray state accusing the TPLF of attacking two federal military camps in the region. And after a monthslong cease fire, the Tigray People's Liberation Front says the Ethiopian government. 1606. The Tigray . [161], A witness told Al Jazeera that, on 4 December, Eritrean troops entered her town in southeastern Tigray and attempted to rape her; this statement is corroborated by other survivors and witnesses, who spoke of rampant sexual violence, massacres and destruction of civilian infrastructure committed by the EDF. The Ethiopian government declared the election void, leading to an outbreak of violence between the two sides. Issued on: 11/01/2023 - 14:00. Mohamed Salem Al Rashedi, the UAE Ambassador to Ethiopia, said, The UAE has a strong relationship with Ethiopia, and this assistance is part of the directives of the UAEs wise leadership to provide humanitarian and development assistance to brotherly and friendly peoples.. 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