who is supporting tigray rebels

Ethiopia consists of three main ethnic communities: The Oromo and the Amhara felt that they were being marginalized by the Tigray minority under the rule of a TPLF-dominated coalition, which funelled a large share of national resources into the Tigray region. The government fears the Ethiopian crisis will affect stability in the region and neighboring countries. The Tigray War has been the subject of numerous reactions and protests worldwide. The conflict has escalated rapidly since June, when fighters began to retake most of Tigray and expand intoneighboring regions. [156], On 6 May, Ethiopia's House of Peoples Representatives declared the TPLF as a terrorist organization. 13,000,000 in need of food aid[43], After years of increased tensions and hostilities between the TPLF and the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea, fighting began when Tigrayan security forces attacked the Northern Command headquarters of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), alongside a number of other bases in Tigray. DW has confirmed that at least two officials of the interim administration were dismissed over comments on the presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray. A month later, the federal government began withholding funds from the regional administration. "[380], On 20 May 2022, Ethiopian law enforcement began arresting journalists en masse, with 4,500 people in the Amhara Region alone being taken into custody. Currently, Ethiopia seems to be in a comfortable position. Tigray rebels start handing over heavy weapons. , , Fri Nov 20, 2020 12:00 AM Last update on: Fri Nov 20, 2020 01:51 AM, EU interested to send polls observers for next election: Charles Whiteley, Ukraine's interior minister among 18 dead in helicopter crash, Ressas acquittal raps a win for free, defiant journalism, Outgoing Juventus Chairman Andrea Agnelli to quit board roles at Stellantis, Exor, Philippine Nobel laureate Maria Ressa acquitted of tax evasion, AL's lies became clear through US embassy's statement: Fakhrul, Over 3,500 Rohingyas attempted deadly sea crossings in 2022: UNHCR, Need dedicated hospital for children in every division: PM, Road blocked, vehicles vandalised over custodial death in Gazipur, Moderate to mild cold wave likely to continue, If there're errors in textbooks, they'll be corrected: Dipu Moni, , , . "There is no clear end in sight" to the conflict, said agency spokesperson James Elder, after returning from . Some articles state that the war began on 4 November; A few EEPA articles begin with the following injunction: ", formally agreed to a cessation of hostilities, attacked the Northern Command headquarters, Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement, National Intelligence and Security Service, United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces, Tigrayan peace process Ceasefire period (March 2022August 2022), National Intelligence and Security Agency, War crimes in the Tigray War Crimes against humanity, Ethnic discrimination in Ethiopia Tigray War, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, "Ethiopia Will Explode if It Doesn't Move Beyond Ethnic-Based Politics", "Hate Speech on Facebook Is Pushing Ethiopia Dangerously Close to a Genocide", "Regional Special Forces Pose Threat to Peace and Security in Ethiopia", "Ethiopia's Tigray forces enter neighbouring Afar region, Afar says", "Ethiopia's Amhara state rallies residents to fight Tigrayans", "Three more regions reinforce Ethiopia army, Amhara against Tigray forces", "Ethiopia: Fear Tigray conflict could trigger all-out war", "Ethiopian PM confirms Eritrean troops entered Tigray during conflict", "Eritrea confirms its troops are fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray", "UAE air bridge provides military support to Ethiopia gov't", "Foreign Drones Tip the Balance in Ethiopia's Civil War", "Ethiopian prime minister in UAE as Tigray war rages on", "Ethiopian anti-government alliance says plans to dismantle government by force or negotiations", "Tigray, other groups form alliance against Ethiopia's leader", "Ethiopia armed group says it has alliance with Tigray forces", "Leaked EU Diplomatic Cable: Delegation of the European Union to Ethiopia", "The Sidama National Liberation Front to Join the Coalition of Resistance by the Federalist Forces", "Eight Groups Join Tigray Rebels Vowing to Oust Ethiopia's Leader", "An Afar-based armed group parts its ways with TPLF-led alliance", "Benishangul Gumuz regional govt, rebel group sign peace agreement", "African Union: Agreement reached on permanent cessation of hostilities in Ethiopia", "Combatants in Ethiopia's Tigray war agree to stop fighting", "Warring parties in Ethiopia agree on 'permanent cessation of hostilities', "Ethiopia combatants sign deal to start implementing truce", https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3983166/ethiopia-truce-implementation-start-%E2%80%98immediately%E2%80%99-mediator-says, "Ethiopia Rivals Agree on Humanitarian Access for Tigray", "Ethiopia's Tigray War: A Deadly, Dangerous Stalemate", "On 'Rooftop of Africa,' Ethiopia's Troops Hunt Fugitive Former Rulers", "Wieder Luftangriffe der Armee in Tigray", "Ethiopia civil war: Hyenas scavenge on corpses as Tigray forces retreat", "Ethiopia's Tigray conflict: Thousands reported killed in clashes", "After battlefield reversals, what next for Ethiopia's Tigray war? As per Reuters, Ethiopian forces have carried out aerial bombardment in Tigrays regional capital city of Mekelle for at least four days this week. Rebels surveyed the wreckage of a military plane downed by their forces south of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. [130][131] During the subsequent days, skirmishes continued and the Ethiopian federal parliament declared the creation of an interim government for Tigray. [210][211] Authorities in Addis Ababa also told residents to register their weapons in order to fend off the anticipated offensive. Tigray's regional special forces, which a senior Ethiopian diplomat estimates have grown to at least 20,000 commandosled by senior Tigrayan officers forced into retirement by Abiy, plus a . [35] [329] Following the 23 June bombing of Togoga, there were reports of Ethiopian government soldiers firing on ambulances to prevent them from reaching the injured. [324][323] There were also reports that Tigrayan forces had gang-raped dozens of women and underage girls in at least two towns in the Amhara Region,[325] and girls some as young as 14 were identified as victims of rape in the towns of Chenna and Kobo in August and September 2021. 482 (EXT.OS/XXXII) 2021", "Probe in Ethiopia's Tigray did not reach site of Axum attack: UN", "Millions of children in Tigray remain out of reach, despite access agreement UNICEF", "UN 'frustration' at lack of access to Tigray", "Ethiopia's Tigray crisis: About 2.3 million children cut off from aid, UN says", "More than two million children in Ethiopia's Tigray region cut off from humanitarian aid, UN says", "Ethiopia: EU suspends budget support over Tigray conflict", "OCHA: ETHIOPIA TIGRAY REGION HUMANITARIAN UPDATE", United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, "U.S. agency says Tigrayan forces looted aid warehouses in Ethiopia's Amhara region", "Tigray rebels loot humanitarian warehouses", "Tigray: almost one in three children under five malnourished, UN says", "Ethiopia: Half of Tigray in 'severe' food shortage", "WFP Chief Alleges TPLF Stole Fuel Designated for Humanitarian Use", "Statement by Executive Director of WFP on seizure of humanitarian fuel supplies in Tigray", "Ethiopia's Tigray runs out of medical supplies as malaria spreads", "Analysis: Tigray's largest hospital "doomed to collapse soon" due to lack of medical supplies, doctors warn as hospital death rate surpass ten percent", "Ethiopia's Tigray running out of medical supplies, WHO warns", "In Pictures: World Refugee Day: No Safe Haven in Tigray", "More than a million displaced in Tigray as Ethiopian PM warns of 'final' offensive against region", "Tigray refugees in cramped Sudanese camps fear coronavirus outbreak", "Ethiopia: Northern Ethiopia Access Snapshot (September 2021)", "News: Over half a million people newly displaced in Tigray, Afar and Amhara since militarized conflict resumed in August: UN", "Ethiopia Tigray Region Humanitarian Update Situation Report, 13 March 2021 Ethiopia", "Ethiopia's Amhara seize disputed territory amid Tigray conflict", "Eritrean Refugees Caught in Crossfire of Ethiopia's Tigray War", "Ethiopian government begins offensive in Tigray capital city of Mekelle", "Ethiopia: UN says 20,000 refugees missing in Tigray which are believed to have been detained by Eritrean forces and forcibly sent back for punishment by the Government", "Ethiopia's cracking down in Tigray. Because of this, there has been a heightened risk of outbreaks of water-borne diseases and COVID-19. [41][361], In November 2020, the Amhara Region Special Force[362] and Amhara militias loyal to the Amhara regional government[53] took control of the western zone of Tigray in order to settle a decades-old land dispute. [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. [108] In turn, the TPLF has accused the federal government of accumulating too much power for itself, and that it was engaging in ethnic discrimination of Tigrayans. Ethiopia is banking on Russia for defence needs and China for investment needs. [350][351], In late October 2022, it was revealed that the Tigray Region was running out of medical supplies, with the CEO of their largest hospital saying it was "doomed to collapse soon. The country is looking to industrialise. Ethiopia's military accused World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday of supporting and trying to procure arms and diplomatic backing for Tigray state's dominant . Today, the US may project Abiy Ahmed as some sort of a strongman but the fact remains that Ethiopians like him. [155] The TDF also began to dig into their positions in rural Tigray,[156] marking the start of a guerrilla campaign against Ethiopian-allied forces from the mountains. But the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has documented extrajudicial killings by government troops. While the US projects TPLF as some sort of a victim, the insurgent group actually enjoyed political power for over two and a half decades as a part of a TPLF-dominated coalition government from 1991. [383][384] By December 2021, the Committee to Protect Journalists described both Ethiopia and Eritrea as the worst "jailers of journalists" in sub-Saharan Africa. Sudan denied claims that it was involved in an armed group's attempt to attack the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the second accusation of its kind involving Sudan in the Ethiopian crisis. The TPLF fell out of favour in Ethiopia because Ethiopians didnt want it to stay. [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. [71][157][158][159] The Eritrean government stated that it was angered by Amnesty International's report on the massacre, calling it "transparently unprofessional" and "politically motivated" and accusing Amnesty of fabricating evidence. Two thousand displaced people returned to the Fant Rasu zone in Afar Region after the ENDF and Afar Special Forces regained control and OCHA partner organisations' access to improved. Caracal International is UAEs State-owned small arms manufacturer and therefore Emirati supplies are crucial for the Ethiopian forces amidst the ongoing Tigray war. [88][106] In one instance, the Tigray regional government was reported to have defied the federal government and refused to allow Ethiopian Federal Police to arrest Getachew Assefa, the former chief of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) of Ethiopia and executive member of the TPLF. [256] According to peace and conflict studies researcher Kjetil Tronvoll, it is likely that 100,000 people had been killed over the preceding few weeks, and alleged that Eritrea and Ethiopia were using human wave attacks to overwhelm Tigrayan defenses. [385], Several proposals for peace negotiations and mediation were made involving some of the main groups involved in the war. The conflict errupted in November 2020 when Abiy Ahmed deployed the army in a bid to topple Tigrayan leaders who had been challenging his authority for months. AFP. [89][90] He was succeeded by Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, the chairman of the Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM), a coalition member. The Chinese-made, armed drones bombed Tigrayan artillery and weapons depots. Currently, Ethiopia seems to be in a comfortable position. "Tigray has handed over its heavy weapons as part of its commitment to implement the Pretoria agreement", signed on November [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. July 2021 to present. [213], On 22 November, Prime Minister Abiy stated that he will be leading the fight against the rebels from the battlefront after the TDF claimed to have captured Shewa Robit,[214][215] saying; "We are now in the final stages of saving Ethiopia. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that there had been acts of ethnic cleansing in Tigray. So, what makes Ethiopia so important that the UAE too decided to defy the US and back Addis Ababa? With a left-wing nationalist ideology, they vowed to fight for the rights of Tigrayans, a relatively small ethnic group that account for just 5% of the population and had long been marginalized by the central government. "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 . [204][205] A humanitarian worker citing witnesses said the EDF were fighting the TDF in Berhale, a town in Afar 71 kilometres (44mi) northeast of Mekelle. [369] Both Agence France-Presse and BBC News have documented examples of old or manipulated photos, which misleadingly endorsed either the federal Ethiopian government or the TPLF. This is why Abiy Ahmed, a man of. [97] While this decision was considered a cause of celebration at the time,[98][99] many within the Tigray Region were heavily critical of this, seeing it as a betrayal of those who died in the 19982000 war. The UAE is the biggest example of this defiance, and Ethiopia is the battlefield. Ethiopia itself is located close to war-torn Yemen. [196], On 9 September 2021, the Ethiopian government claimed Tigrayan forces had been "routed" and heavily defeated in the Afar Region. But since June 2021, the Ethiopian army has endured continued setbacks and has been forced to withdraw from Tigray. [53], In retaliation,[128] an Ethiopian offensive was launched on 4 November, which was accompanied by the declaration of a state of emergency, the creation of the State of Emergency Inquiry Board[129] and a shutdown of government services in the Tigray Region. [133], On the night of 9 to 10 November 2020, 600 civilians, mostly Amharas and Welkait, were killed in a massacre in the town of Mai Kadra with machetes and knives used by local militias and police loyal to the TPLF, according to preliminary investigations by Amnesty International and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission;[134][69] other refugees, interviewed by the Financial Times and Reuters, said it was the Amhara militia who were the perpetrators and Tigrayans who were the victims. [197] On 30 September, amid UN concerns about a blockade of aid deliveries to Tigray, the Ethiopian government expelled 7 top UN officials, reportedly because of "meddling" in its internal affairs, giving the officials 72 hours to leave the country. "[352][353] WHO officials stated that childhood vaccination rates had plummeted from 90% (before the war) to under 10%. 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. 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. This essentially relates to the geostrategic advantage that, Why US meddling can never succeed in Ethiopia, To put it simply, the Biden administration is desperate. Since the early 2000s, the Ethiopian economy has grown rapidly and has consistently clocked a GDP growth of over. "[61][62] Together with seven smaller rebel groups, the TPLF and OLA declared a coalition aiming to "dismantle Abiy's government by force or by negotiations, and then form a transitional authority. v. t. e. This Timeline of the Tigray War (July 2021 to present) is part of a chronology of the military engagements of the Tigray War, a civil war that began in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia in early November 2020. 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. Ethiopia is no small African nation that can be crippled by American intervention. [154], According to a report by Ghent University, massacres of civilians continued into March, including around 250 in Humera over the course of three days by unconfirmed perpetrators, and 13 in Grizana by the EDF. Nearly six million people in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region are held hostage, as bargaining chips by warlords in control of the region. [271][272][273] From 17 to 25 November alone, Eritrea was reported to have destroyed 241 houses and killed at least 111 people.[274]. [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. Guld stated that the soldiers, aged from 20 to 30 years old, were secretly taken from Mogadishu and sent to Asmara for military training. In the same announcement, the Ethiopian government stated that all Eritrean forces had withdrawn from the region, though this was not confirmed by the Eritrean government. ", "Is Ethiopia Flying Iranian-Made Armed Drones? [51][52], The government and the TPLF formally agreed to a cessation of hostilities and systematic, verifiable disarmament (2 November 2022)[21][22] [23], Exact casualty figures are disputed Fighters from the northern region have been locked in a brutal war with government forces since last year. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has denied accusations made by Ethiopia's army chief that he . [237] Exacerbating tensions were severe food shortages, an issue that remained unsolved have particularly affected the Tigray region. [307], Ethnic profiling against Tigrayans occurred during the Tigray War, with Ethiopians of Tigrayan ethnicity being put on indefinite leave from Ethiopian Airlines or refused permission to board,[308] prevented from overseas travel,[309] and an "order of identifying ethnic Tigrayans from all government agencies and NGOs" being used by federal police to request a list of ethnic Tigrayans from an office of the World Food Programme. [166], Ultimately, the early gains made by the ENDF and EDF against Tigrayan forces did not lead to a decisive defeat of the re-organized and invigorated TDF. Recently, in a speech made at the UN general assembly, President Biden mentioned the need for an African Union-led peace initiative regarding the conflict, a position long held by Ethiopia, but one the rebels disparaged, with their spokesman accusing the AU assigned chief mediator, Olusegun Obasanjo as being too close to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. He also claimed clashes were taking place near Weldiya and that fighting had resumed in Afar, within the Awra and Chifra districts near the Amhara border. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Backed by the UAE and even the African Union, Ethiopia has managed to decimate the US-backed Tigray fighters with relentless aerial bombardment. 1606. ", "Expert: No Evidence UAE Drones Are Being Used in Ethiopia's Tigray Conflict", "Somali troops committed atrocities in Tigray as new alliance emerged, survivors say", "Ethiopia Denies Somalia Forces Involved in Fighting in Tigray", "Somalia denies claims its soldiers killed in Tigray war helping ENDF", "Somalia rejects claims hundreds of its soldiers died fighting in Tigray", "Somalia denies involvement in Ethiopia conflict", "Ex-spy chief claims hundreds of Somali soldiers killed in Tigray region", "Destruction in Ethiopia's Tigray Region", "Ethiopia's Tigray crisis: Report says war crimes may have been committed", "Ethiopia's Tigray conflict: Why the rest of the world is worried", "At scene of Ethiopia's new killings, some fight, some flee", "Ethiopia's War Leads to Ethnic Cleansing in Tigray Region, U.S. Report Says", "Blinken: Acts of 'ethnic cleansing' committed in Western Tigray", "US congressman Michael McCaul raises spectre of 'genocide' in Tigray", "Tigray crisis: 'Genocidal war' waged in Ethiopia region, says ex-leader", "Ethiopian patriarch pleads for international help to stop rape and genocide by government troops", "Ethiopia Tigray crisis: Warnings of genocide and famine", "Ethiopian leaders said they would 'wipe out' Tigrayans: EU envoy", "EU envoy: Ethiopian leadership vowed to 'wipe out' Tigrayans", "Ethiopia vowed to wipe out Tigrayan people "for 100 years," EU official says", "Ethiopia rejects U.S. allegations of ethnic cleansing in Tigray", "Ethiopia Airlines accused of ethnic profiling over civil war with Tigray", "Ethnic profiling of Tigrayans heightens tensions in Ethiopia", "Ethiopian police seeking lists of ethnic Tigrayans U.N. report", "Tigrayans 'profiled' in Ethiopia crackdown", "Ethiopia: Ethnic Tigrayans Forcibly Disappeared", "Exclusive: Ethiopia says disarms Tigrayan peacekeepers in Somalia over security", "U.N. Ethiopia's military has accused Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organisation, of siding with rebels led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front as the country nears. [132] Ethiopian offensives in the north were accompanied with airstrikes and several towns and cities were retaken. . The rebels, known as the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), have dismissed allegations they have committed atrocities as "groundless" pro-government propaganda. The Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) is presently on a shopping spree. [58][153], After Ethiopian federal forces and their allies captured Mekelle and other major cities, forces loyal to the Tigray government began to regroup into mountainous areas of the region and reorganized under the banner of the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF). The report noted that before the war began, Somali forces under the leadership of the Eritrean Army had been stationed in trenches along the border. Last month, Abiy, a former soldier, returned to the front lines to direct the fight against the Tigray rebels, who had dominated the federal government before he took office. A huge land in Addis and other places? News/Politics 2023-01-12T08:05:09.775Z. Russia has even signed a military cooperation agreement with Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government denied involvement in the killing. The Ethiopian forces are quite clearly winning the war against the TPLF despite the US imposing sanctions on the East African nation. Today, even Eriteria is supporting Ahmeds war effort against the TPLF. [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.