Debretsion Gebremichael, Tigray’s regional president, said there are clashes on the southwestern part of Tigray along with the Amhara region border.
Speaking on Tigray region’s television Thursday morning two days after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered military operations there in an escalation of a long-running feud, Debretsion said fighting continued along the border with Amhara until yesterday. He did not mention the exact places nor if there were casualties and deaths.
He said the Amhara region special forces joined forces with the federal army to fight with the Tigray region’s special forces. Debrestion also accused the federal government of deploying troops in the border along the Afar region.
The president also said Tigray forces have seized control of the artillery and equipment of federal military northern command located in the region.
“The people of Tigray should not be attacked with the weapons gathered in Tigray. We are now fully armed. We are not inferior to them in weapons; Maybe we are better,” he said.
Members of the Federal Defense Forces stationed near the border crossed the Eritrean border through Adiabo, Debretsion said. “This indicates the collusion between the Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders to target the region,” he said. Members of the armed forces have been ordered to relocate from Tigray to Eritrea, he said.
Prime minister Abiy Ahmed announced that he had ordered a military offensive in the wake of an attack on a military base early Wednesday.
Tplf belligerence is here again! “We are now fully armed. We are not inferior to them in weapons; Maybe we are better!” says their leader DebreTsion.
EO should have reported the background to the story for those not familiar with conditions in the country. In the present case, the Federal Govt replaces the regional commanding general for reasons of questionable loyalty. Tplf (a local ethnic ‘party’) blocks the transition. Federal forces are now trying to bring order back. Secondly, Tplf has been hiding in Mekelle ever since its scheme to conduct a sham election was outed three years ago. Three years ago Tplf found out the hard way that it cannot remain in power having massacred hundreds, and tortured/imprisoned thousands in Oromia region. It called an emergency meeting of the 4-ethnic party it put together (Eprdf) in the early 1990s. The ‘election” was meant to sideline itself for a period and get a compliant southerner Shiferaw Shigute (a non-Oromo, non-Amhara) to be the prime minister. And then come back with vengeance. It did not work the way Tplf planned. Only an Oromo could speak to calm the restive Oromo region; what is even more spectacular was that Amhara party (leader Demeke Mekonnen) cast his vote with the Oromo! What was Tplf’s alternative then? Well, fight it out in court! No, Tplf is but a party of thugs who have literally siphoned off billions from aid money into their private accounts in Middle Eastern, Asian, and European banks. Global Financial Integrity has documents all this for those interested. Knowing accusations of looting and crime against humanity awaited it Tplf run and hid in Mekelle.
One thing is clear. Tigrayan people are not behind Tplf; they are terrorized with beatings, kidnappings, and murder for speaking up! In other words, if those in leadership are rounded up there will hardly be a problem we are facing as a nation today! Never forget this: Tplf has perpetrated unimaginable atrocities on the people of Tigray (though it has tried to blame it all on Derg)!
The Federal gov can only push its present efforts to the finish. It has no choice! Get those vagabonds out of the way (bring them before a court of law). Every chaotic situation in the country over the past three years has been traced back to Tplf! No group has the financial resources and the military background to undertake a coordinated attach across the country same day, same hour, and same way!! The choice for the Federal gov is action, not dialogue.