The Patriot Files Forums  

Go Back   The Patriot Files Forums > Warfare > Warfare

Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 11-04-2020, 03:12 PM
Boats's Avatar
Boats Boats is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sauk Village, IL
Posts: 21,784
Arrow Ethiopia Near Civil War as PM Sends Army Into Defiant Region

Ethiopia Near Civil War as PM Sends Army Into Defiant Region
By: Associated Press & VOA News - 11-03-20
Re: https://www.voanews.com/africa/ethio...defiant-region

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA - Ethiopia approached civil war Wednesday as its Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister ordered the military to confront the country's well-armed Tigray regional government, accusing it of a deadly attack on a military base and declaring "the last red line has been crossed" after months of alleged provocations.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's move against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, in one of Africa's most populous and powerful countries, sent a shock wave through the long-turbulent Horn of Africa. Ethiopia's neighbors include Somalia and Sudan, and the prospect of spreading instability sent a chill down observers' spines.

Signaling the gravity of the threat, the United States in the midst of its election drama issued a statement urging "an immediate de-escalation." The United Nations expressed "alarm" and made a similar plea.

"We have to guard against 'just another tribal African war,' " former U.S. diplomat Payton Knopf told The Associated Press. "This is much more akin to what an interstate war would look like," with large and highly trained ground forces, mechanized units and heavy artillery.

Map link: https://im-media.voltron.voanews.com...?itok=68sQqjPr
Tigray region, Ethiopia

Internet and phone lines were cut in Tigray, challenging efforts to verify the Ethiopian government's account of events. A statement on Tigray TV accused the federal government of deploying troops to "cow the people of Tigray into submission by force" and said airspace over the region was closed.

The prime minister announced "several martyrs" in the overnight attack in Mekele, the northern Tigray region's capital, and Dansha town. The region is Ethiopia's most sensitive, neighboring Eritrea, which fought a long border war before the two countries made peace in 2018.

Counterattack

Abiy, in a national address late Wednesday, said the attack was aimed at making Ethiopia vulnerable to outside enemies, without naming names. The army late Wednesday said it had launched a counterattack and asserted "massive" damage, and Abiy said the military would conduct further operations in the coming days.

Ethiopia declared a six-month state of emergency in Tigray on Wednesday, saying "illegal and violent activities" were threatening the country's sovereignty. A Tigray TV report that the Ethiopian military's northern command had defected to the Tigray government was "not true," the prime minister's office told the AP.

The TPLF dominated Ethiopia's military and governing coalition before Abiy took office in 2018 and announced sweeping political reforms that won him the Nobel last year. Those reforms, however, opened space for ethnic and other grievances. The TPLF, feeling marginalized by shifts in power, left the coalition last year.

Tigray officials have objected to the postponement of Ethiopia's national election because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which extends Abiy's stay in office. In September, the region held an election that defied the federal government and increased tensions over a region of some 5 million people that, despite its small share of Ethiopia's population of 110 million, has had outsize influence.

Last month, the federal government further angered the TPLF by moving to divert funding for Tigray to local administrations instead of the regional government.

On Monday, Tigray leader Debretsion Gebremichael warned that a bloody conflict could erupt, accusing Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders of making "all necessary preparations to start war" against the region. There was no immediate Eritrea comment.

Ethiopia was already stressed by a dispute with Egypt over a massive Ethiopian dam project that has drawn rare attention from President Donald Trump to Africa, and by a multilayer crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic and deadly ethnic violence.

'Disastrous' conflict feared

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

Abiy's statement accused the TPLF of arming and organizing irregular militias in recent weeks. "TPLF has chosen to wage war," his office said. "The last red line has been crossed with this morning's attacks and the federal government is therefore forced into a military confrontation" to save the country.

The TPLF has said it's not interested in negotiating with the federal government. "What we need now is a national dialogue," a senior TPLF official, Getachew Reda, told the AP on Sunday.

Observers have worried for months about the growing tensions and their implications for the Horn of Africa, where Abiy has cast himself as a peacemaker.

A report last month by the U.S. Institute of Peace said the fragmentation of Ethiopia "would be the largest state collapse in modern history, likely leading to mass interethnic and interreligious conflict ... and a humanitarian and security crisis at the crossroads of Africa and the Middle East on a scale that would overshadow the existing conflicts in South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen."

The international community needs to rally around the idea of national dialogue in Ethiopia, the International Crisis Group wrote last week. "The alternative, given the country's multiple and bitter divides, is a potential march to war that would be catastrophic," it said.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part two:

Ethiopia's Premier Orders Troops Into Once-powerful Tigray Region in Major Escalation
By: Reuters & VOA News 11-04-20
Re: https://www.voanews.com/africa/ethio...jor-escalation

ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered the military to deploy to the Tigray region on Wednesday after accusing the government there of attacking federal troops, a major escalation of a row between the premier and the once-powerful region.

In September, Tigray held regional elections in defiance of the federal government, which called the vote illegal. The row has escalated in recent days with both sides accusing each other of plotting a military conflict.

Early Wednesday, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) attempted to steal artillery and other equipment from federal forces stationed there, Abiy's office said in a statement.

"The last red line has been crossed with this morning's attacks and the federal government is therefore forced into a military confrontation," Abiy's office said in a statement.

The Ethiopian National Defense Forces have been ordered to carry out "their mission to save the country and the region from spiraling into instability," the statement said.

Debretsion Gebremichael, the president of the Tigray region, told a news conference on Monday that Abiy's government was planning to attack the region to punish it for holding the September election.

Debretsion and other Tigray officials were not immediately available for a comment after the prime minister's statement.

Tigrayans ruled Ethiopian politics since guerrilla fighters ousted a Marxist dictator in 1991, but their influence has waned under Abiy and last year, the TPLF quit his ruling coalition.

Tigray's population makes up 5% of Ethiopia's 109 million people, but its history in politics means it is wealthier and more influential than many other, larger regions.

The Tigray regional army is a well-trained, disciplined force dating back to the 1980s when it led the guerrilla movement that brought the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front coalition to power, analysts say.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 3:

Ethiopia Blasts Trump Remark That Egypt Will 'Blow Up' Dam
BY: Associated Press & VOA News
Re: https://www.voanews.com/africa/ethio...-will-blow-dam

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA - Ethiopia on Saturday denounced “belligerent threats” over the huge dam it has nearly completed on the Blue Nile River, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said downstream Egypt will “blow up” the project it has called an existential threat.

Ethiopia's foreign minister summoned the U.S. ambassador to seek clarification, saying “the incitement of war between Ethiopia and Egypt from a sitting U.S. president neither reflects the longstanding partnership and strategic alliance between Ethiopia and the United States nor is acceptable in international law governing interstate relations,” a statement said.

Without naming Trump or the U.S., Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office issued a separate critical statement amid an outcry in Ethiopia over Trump’s latest threat over the dam. The $4.6 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a source of national pride, aimed at pulling millions of people from poverty.

Trump made the comment while announcing that Sudan would start to normalize ties with Israel. Downstream Sudan is a party to the talks with Ethiopia and Egypt over the disputed dam. “They (Egypt) will end up blowing up the dam,” Trump said. “And I said it and I say it loud and clear … they’ll blow up that dam. And they have to do something.”

The U.S. president earlier this year told the State Department to suspend millions of dollars in aid to Ethiopia because of the dam dispute, angering Ethiopians who had accused the U.S. of being biased during its earlier efforts to broker a deal on the project among Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan. Ethiopia walked away from those talks.

“They will never see that money unless they adhere to that agreement,” Trump said Friday.

“Occasional statements of belligerent threats to have Ethiopia succumb to unfair terms still abound,” the statement by the Ethiopian prime minister's office said. “These threats and affronts to Ethiopian sovereignty are misguided, unproductive, and clear violations of international law.”

Photo of the Dam in question: https://im-media.voltron.voanews.com...?itok=-Px_UOre
FILE - A handout satellite image shows a closeup view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia, June 26, 2020.

It added: “Ethiopia will not cave in to aggressions of any kind.”

There was no comment from the Egyptian government on Trump’s remarks, but pro-government media covered them extensively. Egypt has repeatedly said it wants to settle the dispute through diplomatic means, but it has said it would use “all available means” to defend the interests of its people.

Ethiopia celebrated the first filling of the dam in August, citing heavy rains, to the dismay of Egypt. Ethiopia later banned flights over the dam amid concerns over possible military action by Egypt.

Now, with Trump’s new remarks, some Ethiopians are urging Ethiopian Americans to help vote him out of office in next month’s election.

Worried by the prospect of further friction between two of Africa’s most powerful and populous countries, European Union representative Josep Borrell said in a statement that “now is the time for action and not for increasing tensions,” adding that a deal on the dam is within reach.

The statement by Abiy’s office said the talks with Egypt and Sudan have shown significant progress since the African Union has stepped in to oversee them. Trump’s statement could undermine that process, said Abel Abate Demissie, an associate fellow at Chatham House.

Ethiopia says the colossal dam could help it become a major power exporter. Egypt depends on the Nile to supply its farmers and a booming population of 100 million with fresh water.

Negotiators have said key questions remain about how much water Ethiopia will release downstream if a multi-year drought occurs and how the countries will resolve any future disputes. Ethiopia rejects binding arbitration at the final stage.

A military strike on the dam would be disastrous, one water expert warned. The dam already has more than 4.9 billion cubic meters of water in its reservoir,” Abebe Yirga told The Associated Press. “It will affect thousands of people along the way if this huge amount of water gushes out of the dam.”

The Blue Nile joins the White Nile in Sudan to become the Nile, and about 85% of the river's flow originates from Ethiopia. Officials hope the dam, now more than three-quarters complete, will reach full power-generating capacity in 2023.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Personal note: Why would Trump make such a statement? Independent thoughts on positions in other countries should not be contemplated or even stated. These issues are between the two parties only - statements like that put us in a bad position of which its really none of our business!

Boats
__________________
Boats

O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
sendpm.gif Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:32 AM.


Powered by vBulletin, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.