Today, the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front and the Ethiopian army began a new round of war in the northern region of the country near Zoble Mountain Kobo.
The spokesperson of TPLF Getachew Reda twitted: ““The Aby Regime has launched an offensive against our positions in the Southern front. After week-long provocation using Amhara special force divisions, Amhara militia from all over the region and beyond as well as Fano from Wollo, the southern and sixth command of the regime has.”
“Joined the fray by launching a large-scale offensive. Our forces are heroically protecting our positions. The regime’s well-orchestrated campaign the international community has now been revealed for the drama that it has always been!” twitted Getachew, who is also “Advisor to the President of Tigray; Executive Committee member, TPLF. Member, Central Command, Government of Tigray”.
Responding to the TPLF accusation the Ethiopian Government Communications Service said: “…the terrorist group TPLF armed group continued its recent provocations and launched an attack this morning at 5 a.m. on the eastern front in Bisober, Zobel, and Tekulesh directions. They violated the ceasefire by their actions. Both their attack and the subsequent statement indicate that they were preparing for the provocation.”
“Our valiant defense forces and our entire security forces are working together to defeat the terrorist attack. All of our security forces are on alert to protect the citizens’ peace and security from terrorist attacks. They have committed attacks and are crying out with the false propaganda that they have already mastered…”replied Ethiopian Government Communications Service in its statement.
Last march, the two sides ended fighting without reaching a ceasefire agreement. It is recall that the two parties were announcing their intentions to engage in peace talks under the leadership of Obasanjo (ex-President of the African Union) Today, the TPLF said that secret talks had been held in Djibouti as well as Seychelles with the Ethiopian Government in order to bring peace.
According to a Tigray TV official, the bloody civil war that began in November 2020 by TPLF has claimed the lives of tens and thousands of soldiers and civilians on both sides while millions of people are displaced.
The disagreement between the Tigray region leadership and the Ethiopian government started after TPLF lost its dominance in the four ruling party coalition when the coalition (Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front – EPRDF) elected Abiy Ahmed as its chairman following the resignation of Hailemariam Desalegn.
Following popular protests against TPLF-dominated EPRDF Hailemariam Desalegn had to resign. Hailemariam Desalegn was elected to power by Meles Zenawi’s sudden death. He was also deputy to Meles Zenawi who ruled TPLF, EPRDF, and Ethiopia for more than two decades under an iron fist policy that suppressed the majority while retaining British-style leadership.
The TPLF introduces ethnic politics and constitution that claim to represent the Tigray, an ethnic group from Ethiopia. They are estimated to make up between 5-6 percent of Ethiopia’s total population. EPRDF, the brainchild TPLF was incorporated in the bush by bringing aboard four political parties: TPLF ethnic representatives, Amhara, Oromo and combining over 40 tribes from the southern part of Ethiopia into one party.
The ruling coalition ignored five regions in Ethiopia that were located in the peripheral areas. These were the Somali region, which claims to have the same or more population as Tigray; Benishangul Gumz, where the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam was built; Afar region, which borders Tigray, Eritrea and Djibouti; Gambella, which borders with South Sudan; Harari region located in the eastern part Ethiopia.
Abiy was elected to lead EPRDF and immediately began the process of integrating political parties from the five regions in the peripheral regions into EPRDF. He did this based upon the previous decisions of EPRDF. He succeeded and renamed EPRDF to Prosperity Party. The TPLF refused and was not allowed to be part of it.
Although this was one of the issues TPLF raised with Abiy Ahmed’s administration, its critics claim that the reason the TPLF went to war was to regain its political and economic control over the 110 million Ethiopians. As the war between the sides continues for another round, civilian suffering is likely to worsen.
Source: newbusinessethiopia
