The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed
ADDIS ABABA, Nov 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ethiopia may be on the brink of “a civil war”, according to experts who have spoken on the decision of the country’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, to order a military attack in response to hostile forces who attacked an army base in the north of the country on Wednesday.
The semi-autonomous northern state of Tigray, administered by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), is a tensed part of the country where the ruling party insists Addis Ababa has no compelling authority. The north of the country also holds the bulk of Ethiopia’s military installation, a situation that resulted from the 1998 war with northern neighbor Eritrea.
Speaking on Wednesday, Prime Minister Ahmed said TPLF had”crossed the red line” with the federal army “that has been protecting the people of Tigray for more than twenty years”. Ahmed also said Tigray now regards the Ethiopian army as “a foreign army”.
A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister also said the federal government had “maintained a policy of extreme patience and caution” in the face of “months of continued provocation and incite for violence by TPLF”. But now, the federal government is on the offensive, launching attacks on TPLF in certain areas.
These attacks are expected to continue on Thursday.
Media reports electricity, telephone and internet services in Tigray have been cut. Ethiopia’s parliament has also proposed deliberating on a motion that seeks to characterize the TPLF as a terrorist organization.
The Tigray ethnic group constitutes only about 5% of the country’s population but is probably the richest. Tigray is represented by TPLF, which used to be led by former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The TPLF backed out of a governing coalition headed by the current prime minister over disagreements with Ahmed. These disagreements have since devolved into violent tensions.
Ethiopian lawmakers endorsed a six-month state of emergency in Tigray on Thursday.
Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, expressed in a national address, “The Amhara people, militia and special forces have bravely repelled attacks launched in some places in the Amhara region and managed to deter the expanding force.”
“The forces in the Amhara region, along with members of the national defence force, have not only put off the expanding force but also controlled key areas.”
The move is to assert federal control over a region whose ruling party has for months openly defied Abiy — who is a 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner and has been branded as politically illegitimate by certain groups in the Tigray region. — NNN-AGENCIES