The government of Tigrai Statement After Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Declared War

Araweelo News Network.

Makalle, the capital of the Tigray Region (ANN)- Tigrai State government issued a statement after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared war against the state of Tigrai and it’s people yesterday Wednesday November 3-2020.

Meanwhile the Tigrai government said that the commanders and members of the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Force has decided to stand by the people and government of Tigrai, opposing the dictator Abiy Ahmed and the treasonous group. The Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Force has roughly 80 percent of Ethiopia’s heavy weaponry.

The main reason why Abiy Ahmed declared war against the people and government of Tigrai is because they exercised their constitutional right to self determination and for having held their elections.

The Tigrai government statement indicated the dictatorial regime in Addis Ababa is forcing Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people into a devastating civil war and possibly breaking of Ethiopia after rejecting calls by the TPLF, the government and people of Tigrai to an all-inclusive political dialogue as a solution for their political crisis in Ethiopia.

The government of Tigrai State statement includes the following decisions.

1. The Ethiopian National Defense Force within Tigrai and to Tigrai is prohibited.

2. Any Air transport flights to Tigrai are forbidden and any attempts to attack our people damage property using war planes will be met with proportional measures.

3. Other commanders and members of the National Defense Force across the Ethiopia should follow the example of Northern Command and make the same historic decision and stand by their people to save the country by opposing colonel Abiy’s regime.

4. There would not be any transport service in Tigrai.

Meanwhile The Ethiopian National Defense Forces, under the direction of a Command Post, have been ordered to carry out their mission.
Amina Hersi Moghe via her investment company Atiak Sugar Factory, in Atiak, Amuru District, Northern Uganda. Image file Araweelo News Network.

The prime minister’s spokesman, Billene Seyoum, told Reuters later in the day that military operations in Tigray had commenced, and diplomats reported armed clashes but gave no further details.

“This war is the worst possible outcome of the tensions that have been brewing. Given Tigray’s relatively strong security position, the conflict may well be protracted and disastrous,” said William Davison, International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Ethiopia.

“It could seriously strain an Ethiopian state already buffeted by multiple grave political challenges, and could also send shockwaves into the Horn of Africa region and beyond.”

The TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s governing coalition for decades before Abiy took office in 2018 and announced sweeping political reforms. Those reforms, however, have allowed old ethnic and other grievances to surface, and led to instability.

Tigray’s population makes up 5% of Ethiopia’s 109 million people, but it is wealthier and more influential than many other, larger regions.

Under Abiy, who won last year’s Nobel peace prize for ending a war with neighbouring Eritrea, Tigrayan leaders have complained of being unfairly targeted in corruption prosecutions, removed from top positions and blamed for the country’s problems.

One factor in the latest crisis is the postponement of national elections due to the Covid-19 pandemic. National polls were due to take place in August, but electoral officials ruled in March that all voting would be delayed until the threat from the virus had eased.

When parliamentarians voted to extend officials’ mandates – which would have expired in early October – Tigrayan leaders went ahead with regional elections in September that Abiy’s government deemed illegal.

Now each side sees the other as illegitimate, and federal lawmakers have ruled that Abiy’s government should cut off contact with – and funding to – Tigray’s leadership.

The Tigray region is home to a large portion of federal military personnel and where much of its equipment is located, a legacy of Ethiopia’s brutal 1998-2000 border war with Eritrea, its northern neighbour.

Some analysts estimate that Tigray could muster more than half of the armed forces’ total personnel and mechanised divisions.

Last week, Tigray blocked a general appointed by Abiy from assuming a new posting, saying Abiy no longer had the authority to make such moves.

Tigrayan officials have said in recent days they would not initiate a military conflict. However, the risk of war is high.

On Tuesday night, hours before Abiy’s announcement, Wondimu Asamnew, another senior Tigrayan official, told AFP the federal government was amassing troops on the southern border of Tigray – a claim that could not be independently verified.

“I think when it comes to military mobilisation, it’s not child’s play. It can trigger all-out war … what they are doing is playing with fire,” Wondimu said. “A small spark can ignite the whole region. So I think we are on the alert and I can assure you we are capable of defending ourselves.”