© Reuters
– Demonstrations in support of the government in Addis Ababa
Fighters from the rebel province of Tigray are advancing on the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, two weeks after a state of emergency was declared in the country and after Prime Minister Abi Ahmed threatened to “bury” the fighters.
This challenge threatens not only Africa’s second most populous country with 113 million people and dozens of ethnic groups, but the entire Horn of Africa and potentially the continent because of the risk of conflict, refugee waves, deepening chaos in other provinces and secession. or even the disintegration of a country almost twice the size of Ukraine and with neighbors such as Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan.
According to various sources, the fighters are no more than a few hundred kilometers from Addis Ababa; for comparison, the distance between it and the regional capital Mekele in their home province is nearly 900 km, and their offensive has accelerated only in recent weeks.
The ordeal is great for Abijah, The Nobel laureate who began to transform Ethiopia with political reforms, the abolition of censorship and the release of political opponents, after decades of being one of the most repressive regimes in the world. Ethiopian transformation plans were also seen as a possible model for the whole of Africa with ambitions for regional measurements.
After a year of conflict
The Ethiopian government faces a serious threat from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (known in the West as the TPLF). After a year of armed conflict over Tigray, in which Abi claimed that the army had won, and a failed truce, the front managed to seize large parts of the province and vowed to reach the capital Addis Ababa and overthrow the rulers.
The front also formed a coalition with other rebel organizations against Abi, announced by Washington. In response authorities declared a state of emergency and launched mass arrests, according to the opposition – mostly of Tigers (Addis Ababa denies the arrests were ethnically motivated).
© Reuters
– Fighter from the People’s Liberation Front of Tigray
Addis Ababa residents have been told they can take up arms if they want to defend their capital. According to journalist Samuel Getachu, the day in the capital is running normally, but the night is subject to the state of emergency. Getachu told American public radio En Pi Ar for residents who have been trained outdoors with a quick course on how to defend the capital.
Flight risk
The US Federal Aviation Authority, meanwhile, said it expected problems with civil aviation and the risk of ground fire if the fighting reached the capital. According to the aviation administration, this would put at risk the international airport in the capital, which is one of the busiest airports in Africa. Washington has called on American citizens to leave the country immediately. The danger also stems from the fact that the Tyrants probably weighed down weapons capable of shooting down planes and even portable air defense systems.
The airport in Addis Ababa – a metropolis with 5 million inhabitants, where the headquarters of the African Union – is important both for Ethiopia and for relations with Africa and many other parts of the world. They are the main transportation hub for Ethiopian Airlines, the largest airline in Africa, which was once a symbol of the rise of the Ethiopian economy, one of the fastest growing in the world.
Thousands have been killed, more than two million have been forced to flee their homes, and hundreds of thousands are starving because of the conflict over Tigray, which has also affected neighboring Eritrea. The Tigers were leaders in both politics and the Ethiopian army for years, until Abi came to power in 2018 and began working for centralization and greater integration of the individual provinces. Abiy is half Oromo (the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia) and seeks unification in the country, but the Tiger leadership feels neglected and pushed aside. Ethnic tensions have been created by residents and local forces in several other areas along with Abbey’s liberalization.
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Why did the conflict start and what is the significance of Tigray for Ethiopia, read here.
Mediation
The United States and the African Union are currently most strongly involved in trying to resolve the conflict.
On his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken chose Kenya as the country to discuss the situation in Ethiopia. The choice is partly due to the fact that Nairobi is trying to mediate between the government of Abi Ahmed and the TPLF.
The visit also coincided with a time when the African Union and other regional actors were seeking a solution to the conflict that began last year. President Uhuru Kenyatta made a surprise visit to Addis Ababa last Sunday in an attempt to mediate.
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– On the front page of a local newspaper in Ethiopia are Prime Minister Abi Ahmed (left) and Tigray People’s Liberation Front leader Debrecion Gebremihael in an article on the anniversary of the conflict.
Just a day after Blinken’s visit, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Dina Mufti announced that both the African Union envoy – former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo – and the US Horn of America envoy Jeffrey Feltman are currently in the country.
Addis Ababa has been criticized for imposing a humanitarian blockade and obstructing the delivery of international aid to the region. Weeks ago, 7 UN officials were fired.
Censorship and anger against the Western media
International observers believe both sides have committed numerous human rights abuses and abuses in the course of their conflict.
According to human rights groups, most of the atrocities were committed by soldiers from neighboring Eritrea who joined the front. Representatives of Eritrea, with which Abius reconciled after decades of war (Shortly after coming to power), were sanctioned by the United States last week.
Addis Ababa, however, reacted angrily to posts that commented on this. The media regulator issued a warning letter to two major international media outlets – CNN and the BBC – and leading Reuters and Associated Press agencies – for their coverage of the situation in Ethiopia.
Abi Bilene’s spokesman, Aster Seyum, meanwhile shared a Twitter post by the government’s press service, according to which the aviation authorities assure the safety of the airport in Addis Ababa, and “the warning issued and disseminated by the media is unfounded and contradicts reality.
On demonstrations in Addis Ababa there were also posters reading “stop the BBC”. Since the beginning of the conflict, there has been a rally in the capital with the participation of the authorities, where among the thousands of participants were posters with inscriptions such as “Down with the hands of Tigray” and portraits of the presidents of Russia and China, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
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The battle is also being fought on social networks, where profiles of one or the other side refute posts and accuse the United States of supporting the enemy.
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