Civil war in Ethiopia: Conflict between government and Tigray forces shows no signs of abating
As a bloody conflict inside Ethiopia enters its second year, experts fear the worst is still to come and could destabilize the Horn of Africa. Yahoo News explains what you should know about the civil war that has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced upwards of 2 million people.
Video Transcript
- More than a year in, a bloody civil war in Ethiopia has claimed Tens of thousands of lives and displaced upwards of two million people. And experts fear the worst is still to come.
TANYA RIVERO: Diplomats are scrambling to find a peaceful solution as concerns grow that Ethiopia will fall into an all-out civil war. The conflict between Ethiopia's federal government and Tigrayan rebels started more than a year ago and continues to escalate.
- There's a sense of urgency within the international community that the fighting needs to stop, and urgently so, because it has every possibility of turning into a civil war.
- Ethiopia is a major strategic ally of the US, but Washington says it's ready to impose sanctions if fighting there continues.
ANTONY BLINKEN: The conflict there threatens not just that country, but its neighbors as well.
- With political power in Africa's second-largest nation at stake, Ethiopia's federal government remains at odds with fighters from the northern Tigray region, known as the Tigray People's Liberation Front, or TPLF, who have been steadily advancing south towards the capital, Addis Ababa, since early October.
- The TPLF party dominated Ethiopian politics for decades. That was until Abiy Ahmed came into office in 2018. Since then, the Tigray leadership has claimed the federal government is unfairly targeting their ethnic group in corruption crackdowns. For his part, Abiy accuses the TPLF of attempting to destabilize the country.
- Earlier this month, the Ethiopian government declared a six-month state of emergency across the entire nation.
- The Ethiopian government has called the fight against the Tigray rebels an existential war. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago, has vowed to bury his enemies. Abiy also declared a nationwide state of emergency that allows any armed citizen of military age to be conscripted.
- The memorandum worries critics who fear lawlessness looms in a brewing situation that many believe could have been avoided.
- The government of Ethiopia says there is no plan for a ceasefire as they do not negotiate with insurgents.
- Atrocities have been committed by both the TPLF and Ethiopian forces.
MICHELLE BACHELET: We have reasonable grounds to believe that during this period, all parties to the Tigray conflict have committed violations of international human rights, humanitarian, and refugee law. Some of these may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- As a result, millions of Ethiopians have had their lives drastically affected.
- The war continues, the humanitarian situation in the North remains worrying.
- The UN says the fighting is disrupting the flow of aid into the region, and the humanitarian situation is worsening. More than 400,000 people in Tigray are estimated to be living in famine-like conditions.
ANTONIO GUTERRES: The country is facing an immense humanitarian crisis that demands immediate attention. All efforts should be squarely focused on saving lives and avoiding a massive human tragedy.
