Ethiopia sends troops into the Tigray Reigon

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ethiopia-nears-war-prime-minister-orders-military-defiant-region-n1246557

Ethiopia’s prime minister on Wednesday ordered the military to confront one of the country's regional governments after he said it carried out a deadly attack on a military base overnight, citing months of “provocation and incitement” and declaring that “the last red line has been crossed.”

The statement by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office, and the reported attack by the well-armed Tigray People’s Liberation Front, immediately raised concerns that one of Africa’s most populous and powerful countries could plunge back into war. That would send a shock wave through the Horn of Africa and beyond.

Addressing the nation on TV, Abiy announced “several martyrs” in the attack in Mekele, the northern Tigray region's capital, and Dansha town. The prime minister said “the end is near” for the regional force, which is based in Ethiopia's most sensitive region, neighboring Eritrea. The two countries made peace in 2018 after a long border war.

....
There was no immediate word from the TPLF, and all internet and phone lines were cut in the Tigray region following the announcement. Tigray TV reported that airspace has been closed over the region.

[GlobeSoc]

another war only a couple months after the last one started?

[PSOL]

I’m going to have to back the central government against the TPLF. The Tigray elitists in charge of this are just revolting due to having to resign by public demand. They were dragging the country down to civil war by oppressing every other ethnic group and state for the central region, and now they can’t handle being treated equally and not being the main winner of deals.

Now, this does not excuse the very real failures in the economy and government reform by the new administration, but this parallels the conflict of the three Eastern states in Bolivia over the central government, who are much worse.

[CumbrianLefty]

Almost like its the Mengistu days all over again!

[Zinneke]

I will never understand why the TPLF allowed their Oromo vehicle to grow like that, with the eventual personalisation of Abiy Ahmed's image as a liberator for his constituency, namely the Oromo. It has come back to bit them in the behind and it was high time the ethnic divisions were settled and that Oromo rights were respected, but what drew them towards conceding so much to the Oromo?

[Former President tack50]

I guess the Nobel Peace Price here was premature

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I guess the Nobel Peace Price here was premature

The Nobel Peace Prize voters have an unfortunate tendency to think that the prize should be awarded in a manner that brings peace in specific situations, rather than recognizing actual peace.  Tho to be fair, the 2019 Prize was for ending the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict.

[PSOL]

I will never understand why the TPLF allowed their Oromo vehicle to grow like that, with the eventual personalisation of Abiy Ahmed's image as a liberator for his constituency, namely the Oromo. It has come back to bit them in the behind and it was high time the ethnic divisions were settled and that Oromo rights were respected, but what drew them towards conceding so much to the Oromo?

It was either that or civil war from the looks of the massive protests that brought Ahmed in the first place. Looks like he managed to jostle away control from the TPLF to forward preventing the country falling apart.

I should add that the protests in Oromia have not stopped, and now there is this conflict. Of course, since no one likes the TPLF for f•••ing with the country for decades, and both Sudan and Eritrea are supporting the federal government, this is their dramatic end. Good riddance, those d*ngists are the main reason why Socialism failed to spread in Africa.

[warandwar]

Surely the *main* reason is the IMF?

[PSOL]

Surely the *main* reason is the IMF?

I mean, maybe, but it probably was the TPLF leadership who took out the loans.

[warandwar]

Surely the *main* reason is the IMF?

I mean, maybe, but it probably was the TPLF leadership who took out the loans.

No lie there!

[NewYorkExpress]

Rockets from the rebel forces bomb the Eritrean capital of Asmara.

Rebellious forces from Ethiopia's Tigray region fired rockets at the airport in Eritrea's capital Asmara on Saturday evening, their leader said on Sunday, confirming earlier reports of a major escalation in a 12-day old conflict in Ethiopia.

"Fighting is still continuing on several fronts" in Ethiopia, Debretsion Gebremichael told Reuters in a text message.

Five regional diplomats told Reuters shortly after the attack that at least three rockets were fired at Eritrea's capital from Ethiopia on Saturday night. At least two of the rockets hit Asmara airport, three of the diplomats said.

...

The Tigrayan leader Debretsion, communicating by text message, also said that his forces have been fighting "16 divisions" of the Eritrean army "on several fronts" for the past few days. He did not give an estimate for how many troops he believes Eritrea has deployed. Eritrea has a vast standing army which the United States' CIA puts at 200,000 personnel.

He said Eritrean forces have crossed into Ethiopia at Badme, Rama and Zalambessa, three border towns in the restive northern region.

"Our country is attacking us with a foreign country, Eritrea. Treason!" he told Reuters in a text message.

[Zinneke]

So was Abiy's peace deal with Eritrea a strategic move to target the TPLF?

[PSOL]

So was Abiy's peace deal with Eritrea a strategic move to target the TPLF?

I seriously don’t think they saw this coming.

[jaichind]

So was Abiy's peace deal with Eritrea a strategic move to target the TPLF?

I seriously don’t think they saw this coming.

I suspect he new it will come to this.  Abiy Ahmed was put in by the TPLF to be in charge of the EPRDF alliance to pacify rising Oromo resentment toward Tigrayan domination of the ruling front but was meant to be a puppet.  He then turned the tables on TPLF by merging all component parties of EPRDF into a one centralized party and along the way wipe out TPLF as an independent political force.  TPLF refused and retreated back to Tigray.  After that something like this was bound to take place given the two sides could not work out a power sharing compromise.

[NewYorkExpress]

Eithiopia accuses the chief of the WHO of backing the Tigray Reigion

The World Health Organization’s director-general on Thursday denied an allegation from his own country, Ethiopia, that he was lobbying neighboring nations to provide arms and other support to the defiant Tigray region, which has been clashing with the Ethiopian government for two weeks.

“There have been reports suggesting that I am taking sides in this situation,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “This is not true, and I want to say that I am on only one side and that is the side of peace.”

Tedros added, “My heart breaks for my home, Ethiopia.” He recalled seeing war as a child and its “terrible human toll,” and he joined international calls for an immediate de-escalation.

He replied a day after Ethiopia’s army chief made the lobbying allegation without citing any evidence. Gen. Birhanu Jula told reporters that the WHO chief had urged unnamed neighbors to “oppose the war and for (the Tigray People’s Liberation Front) to get arms.”

[NewYorkExpress]

The Eithiopian Army is marching on Tigray's reigional capital, Mekelle.

Ethiopia has entered the "final phase" of a "law enforcement" military operation in the northern restive region of Tigray after a 72-hour deadline to surrender expired, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed tweeted in a statement on Thursday.

"The last peaceful gate which had remained open for the TPLF clique to walk through have now been firmly closed," the statement read, referring to the region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

Abiy claimed "thousands of Tigray Special Forces and militia members" surrendered in that time -- a claim CNN has been unable to independently verify due to a communications blackout in the region. Internet, mobile phones and landlines are all down.

The Ethiopian federal forces have been notified to conclude the "final phase" of capturing the regional capital of Mekelle. On Saturday, the military said Mekelle would be surrounded by tanks and warned civilians to be aware of artillery as the military would have "no mercy for the junta."

[PSOL]

I wonder why the Oromo separatists aren’t taking advantage of the situation already?

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I wonder why the Oromo separatists aren’t taking advantage of the situation already?

At least as long as their man Abiy is in charge, why would there be any politically significant Oromo separatists?

[PSOL]

I wonder why the Oromo separatists aren’t taking advantage of the situation already?

At least as long as their man Abiy is in charge, why would there be any politically significant Oromo separatists?

There were giant protests in 2019 in the Oromia region, they clearly don’t like the federal government.

[jaichind]

The Eithiopian Army is marching on Tigray's reigional capital, Mekelle.

Ethiopia has entered the "final phase" of a "law enforcement" military operation in the northern restive region of Tigray after a 72-hour deadline to surrender expired, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed tweeted in a statement on Thursday.

"The last peaceful gate which had remained open for the TPLF clique to walk through have now been firmly closed," the statement read, referring to the region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

Abiy claimed "thousands of Tigray Special Forces and militia members" surrendered in that time -- a claim CNN has been unable to independently verify due to a communications blackout in the region. Internet, mobile phones and landlines are all down.

The Ethiopian federal forces have been notified to conclude the "final phase" of capturing the regional capital of Mekelle. On Saturday, the military said Mekelle would be surrounded by tanks and warned civilians to be aware of artillery as the military would have "no mercy for the junta."

This is very surprising. TPLF has a fairly large crack military force.  I find it hard to believe they will be beaten by the federal forces that quickly.

[PSOL]

The Eithiopian Army is marching on Tigray's reigional capital, Mekelle.

Ethiopia has entered the "final phase" of a "law enforcement" military operation in the northern restive region of Tigray after a 72-hour deadline to surrender expired, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed tweeted in a statement on Thursday.

"The last peaceful gate which had remained open for the TPLF clique to walk through have now been firmly closed," the statement read, referring to the region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

Abiy claimed "thousands of Tigray Special Forces and militia members" surrendered in that time -- a claim CNN has been unable to independently verify due to a communications blackout in the region. Internet, mobile phones and landlines are all down.

The Ethiopian federal forces have been notified to conclude the "final phase" of capturing the regional capital of Mekelle. On Saturday, the military said Mekelle would be surrounded by tanks and warned civilians to be aware of artillery as the military would have "no mercy for the junta."

This is very surprising. TPLF has a fairly large crack military force.  I find it hard to believe they will be beaten by the federal forces that quickly.

The Mullahs in Iran have a better one than this joke.

Again, I think they nor Abiy Ahmed didn’t realize the true brevity of the situations prior. Especially considering the effectiveness of their armed forces under their command. I believe there’s a good chance we will see this soon, especially considering the level of defections by young Ethiopian men on this frontier. We see this with Ethiopia needing Eritrean artillery support.

[NewYorkExpress]

The Eithopian Army has captured Mekelle.

Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) have taken control of Mekelle, the capital of the country's Tigray region, according to a tweet from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The city was under fierce bombardment earlier on Saturday, a humanitarian source on the ground and eyewitnesses who have fled the city told CNN.

Federal police will continue working to round up members of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). Thousands of Northern Command officers held by the TPLF have now been released, according to Abiy.

The airport, public institutions, the regional administration office and other critical facilities are under control of the ENDF. The prime minister thanked the people of Tigray and emphasized that the next critical task is working to rebuild what has been destroyed.

[PSOL]

Well this is concerning

Ethiopian forces on Thursday blocked people fleeing the country’s embattled Tigray region from crossing into Sudan at the busiest border crossing point for refugees, Sudanese forces said.

Their account follows allegations by refugees in previous days of Ethiopian forces stopping people from fleeing the month-old deadly conflict in Tigray between Ethiopian forces and Tigray regional forces.

Members of the Sudanese forces, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the events, said people tried to cross from Ethiopia around 6 a.m. to Hamdayet in Sudan but were stopped, and refugees waiting on the Sudan side became upset and began throwing rocks.

Things will only get worse from here.

[PSOL]

It’s looking like things are spiraling out of control. A regional war of Eritrea and Ethiopia vs Sudan and Egypt might start.