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A6 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 5 November 2020
Ethiopia near civil war as PM sends army into defiant region

By ELIAS MESERET "What we need now is a
and CARA ANNA national dialogue," a se-
Associated Press nior TPLF official, Getachew
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) Reda, told the AP on Sun-
— Ethiopia approached day. Observers have wor-
civil war on Wednesday as ried for months about the
its Nobel Peace Prize-win- growing tensions and their
ning prime minister ordered implications for the Horn of
the military to confront the Africa, where Abiy has cast
country's well-armed Tigray himself as a peacemaker.
regional government, ac- A report last month by the
cusing it of a deadly attack United States Institute of
on a military base and de- Peace said the fragmenta-
claring "the last red line has tion of Ethiopia "would be
been crossed" after months the largest state collapse in
of alleged provocations. modern history, likely lead-
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's ing to mass interethnic and
move against the Tigray interreligious conflict ... and
People's Liberation Front, in a humanitarian and secu-
one of Africa's most popu- rity crisis at the crossroads
lous and powerful coun- of Africa and the Middle
tries, sent a shock wave East on a scale that would
through the long-turbulent overshadow the existing
Horn of Africa region. Ethi- conflicts in South Sudan, Su-
opia's neighbors include dan, Somalia, and Yemen."
Somalia and Sudan, and The international commu-
the prospect of spreading nity needs to rally around
instability sent a chill down In this Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, file photo, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, center, arrives for the the idea of national dia-
observers' spines. opening session of the 33rd African Union (AU) Summit at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, logue in Ethiopia, the Inter-
Signaling the gravity of the Ethiopia. national Crisis Group wrote
threat, the United States Associated Press last week. "The alternative,
in the midst of its election neighboring Eritrea, which Ethiopia's national election Abiy's rule has come, as the given the country's multiple
drama issued a statement fought a long border war because of the COVID-19 fighting in Tigray could in- and bitter divides, is a po-
urging "an immediate de- before the two countries pandemic, which extends spire other restive regions in tential march to war that
escalation." The United Na- made peace in 2018. Abiy's stay in office. In Sep- Ethiopia. would be catastrophic," it
tions expressed "alarm" and Abiy in a national address tember the region held an "This war is the worst pos- said. Fighting could undo
made a similar plea. late Wednesday said the election that defied the sible outcome of the ten- Ethiopia's military cohe-
"We have to guard against attack was aimed at mak- federal government and sions that have been brew- sion, the group warned: "Ti-
'just another tribal African ing Ethiopia vulnerable to increased tensions over ing," said William Davison, gray officers hold positions
war,'" former U.S. diplo- outside enemies, without a region of some 5 mil- International Crisis Group's throughout the armed forc-
mat Payton Knopf told The naming names. The military lion people that, despite senior analyst for Ethiopia. es in different parts of the
Associated Press. "This is repulsed the attack and its small share of Ethiopia's "Given Tigray's relatively country; some might prove
much more akin to what will conduct further opera- population of 110 million, strong security position, the more loyal to their region
an inter-state war would tions in the coming days, has had outsize influence. conflict may well be pro- than to federal authorities."
look like," with large and he said. Last month, the federal tracted and disastrous." It was not immediately
highly trained ground forc- Ethiopia declared a six- government further an- Abiy's statement alleging clear how Ethiopia's regions
es, mechanized units and month state of emergency gered the TPLF by moving the overnight attack ac- would respond.
heavy artillery. "This is not in Tigray on Wednesday, to divert funding for Tigray cused the TPLF of arming The head of the Amhara
Syria, right? This is not Ye- saying "illegal and violent to local administrations in- and organizing irregular mi- region, Temesgen Tiruneh,
men. This is a different order activities" were threatening stead of the regional gov- litias in recent weeks. "TPLF in a Facebook post said
of magnitude." He com- the country's sovereignty. ernment. has chosen to wage war," members of Tigray's secu-
pared Ethiopia to the for- A Tigray TV report that the On Monday, Tigray leader his office said. "The last red rity forces were welcome
mer Yugoslavia. Ethiopian military's northern Debretsion Gebremichael line has been crossed with to defect, writing that "we
Internet and phone lines command had defected warned a bloody conflict this morning's attacks and know you are fighting be-
were cut in Tigray, chal- to the Tigray government could erupt, accusing Ethi- the federal government is cause you've no choice."
lenging efforts to verify the was "not true," the prime opian and Eritrean leaders therefore forced into a mili- The Amhara and Tigray
Ethiopian government's minister's office told the AP. of making "all necessary tary confrontation" to save regions before Abiy's rule
account of events. A state- The TPLF dominated Ethio- preparations to start war" the country. were locked in a bitter con-
ment on Tigray TV accused pia's military and govern- against the region. There The head of Ethiopia's new frontation over disputed
the federal government of ing coalition before Abiy was no immediate Eritrea state of emergency com- border areas.q
deploying troops to "cow took office in 2018 and comment. mittee, Redwan Hussein,
the people of Tigray into announced sweeping po- Ethiopia was already told reporters the federal
submission by force" and litical reforms that won him stressed by a dispute with government's conflict is
said airspace over the re- the Nobel last year. Those Egypt over a massive Ethio- with a "small clique of TPLF
gion was closed. reforms, however, opened pian dam project that has circles that are keen to de-
The prime minister an- space for ethnic and other drawn rare attention by stabilize Ethiopia," and the
nounced "several martyrs" grievances. The TPLF, feel- President Donald Trump to government must do ev-
in the overnight attack in ing marginalized by shifts in Africa, and by a multi-lay- erything possible to "liber-
Mekele, the northern Ti- power, left the coalition last er crisis with the COVID-19 ate the Tigrayan people."
gray region's capital, and year. pandemic and deadly eth- The TPLF has said it's not in-
Dansha town. The region Tigray officials have object- nic violence. terested in negotiating with
is Ethiopia's most sensitive, ed to the postponement of Now the greatest test of the federal government.