Ethiopia – Tigray war: Instability, famine, war crimes and preservation of heritage sites

An ongoing war between the Ethiopian army and rebellious Tigray forces threatens the stability and existence of Ethiopia as a federation and a vibrant force within Africa. The Tigray conflict that has engulfed one of Africa’s ancient civilisations has caused famine, war crimes, and theft of manuscripts and artifacts that prove the existence of rich African Christian heritage from the mid-fourth century A.D. in Ethiopia, Eretria and Sudan.

The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) backed by the United States, dominated Ethiopian politics from 1991 to 2019, following the overthrow of the Marxist led government of Mengistu Haile Mariam (1977–1991). The EPRDF was formed from a coalition of ethnically based groups including; the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) and Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM). Meles Zenawi Asres, a Tigrayan and leader of the EPRDF during the insurgency against Mengistu Haile Mariam headed the EPRDF transitional government in 1991.

Ethiopia’s first multiparty elections took place in May 1995. The election was won by the EPRDF, enabling the president of the transitional government, Meles Zenawi, to become the first Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia under a new constitution.

However, as fate would have it, Meles Zenawi died unexpectedly in Belgium in 2012, and Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn assumed power. Unfortunately, nationwide protests rocked his rule and a year-long state of emergency from October 2016 to August 2017 was imposed. Disappointingly, Hailemariam Desalegn was unable to hold on to the reins of power. Subsequently, he offered his resignation in February 2018 making way for Abiy Ahmed an Oromo to be elected as chairman of the EPRDF and third prime minister of Ethiopia.

To facilitate the agenda of uniting Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed merged the ethnic and regional constituent parties of the EPRDF coalition and opposition parties into his new Prosperity Party in December 2019. This incensed the powerful TPLF that had dominated Ethiopian politics for 27 years and its chairman Debretsion Gebremichael, pulled out of the new party.

Debretsion Gebremichael actions were reminiscent of the July, 1992 resignation of Boris Yeltsin from the Soviet Communist Party following the re-election of Mikhail Gorbachev as head of the party. Boris Yeltsin’s maneuvers were intended to weaken Gorbachev power, and strengthen Yeltsin’s hold on the leadership of the Russian Federation.

Following rescheduling of elections in August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, the TPLF claimed that Abiy Ahmed had lost his legitimacy as prime minister. The TPLF also called into question the basis upon which the prime minister handed over the disputed town of Badwe to Eritrea following the Ethiopia-Eritrea war.

In furtherance of its struggle for power, in September 2020, the TPLF led by Debretsion Gebremichael, defied directives from Addis Ababa and held elections in Tigray. About two hundred and seven million people participated in the Tigray elections. This caused deep mistrust with the Ethiopian government.

On 4 November 2020, Tigray forces attacked federal command bases and headquarters in the Tigray Region.  Fighting then broke out between Tigray forces and an Ethiopia-Eritrea-Amhara alliance. In the counter-attack, Ethiopian and alliance forces captured Mekelle, the capital city of Tigray on 28 November, 2020 enabling Prime Minister Abiy to prematurely declare an end to hostilities in Tigray.

It is worth noting that Boris Yeltsin’s actions caused a seemingly controlled political chain reaction that ultimately led to Gorbachev’s resignation as head of the Communist Party, the subsequent breakup of the Soviet Union, and eventual emergence of a strong Boris Yeltzin as President of the Russian Federation.

On the contrary Debretsion Gebremichael actions and Abiy Ahmed’s response has led to a situation where Ethiopia is now at war with itself. A condition that is certainly counterproductive, destructive and a betrayal to the people of Ethiopia and Africa.

Human Rights activists state that mass extrajudicial killings of civilians on both sides of the conflict characterized the November and December 2020 offensives in Tigray. According to BBC, “Eritrean forces in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray killed hundreds of people in Aksum between 28 and 29 November, 2020.” While Amnesty International, state that, “on 10 November, 2020 about 500 non-Tigrayan civilians killed by Tigrayan forces littered the streets in Mai Kadra in the western part of Tigray.” The Mai Kadra massacre occurred while Tigrayan forces were retreating after the initial counter-offensive by Ethiopian and alliance forces.

Aksum is considered sacred by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians because it is considered the birthplace of the biblical Queen of Sheba, who travelled to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon. The historical narrative is that King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba’s son, Menelik I brought to Aksum, the Ark of the Covenant, believed to contain the ten commandments handed down to Moses by God.

The Ark of the Covenant is constantly under guard at the city’s Our Lady Mary of Zion Church and no one is allowed to see it. Religious celebrations are held at the church on 30 November every year, attracting devotees from Ethiopia and around the globe.

Human Rights Watch report that Eritrean forces came to the church of Our Lady Mary of Zion on 3 December, 2020 terrorised the priests and forcibly demanded the gold and silver religious relics. However, the deacons and young militia refused and protected the ark. Amnesty International reports that its high-resolution satellite imagery taken in December 2020 show disturbed earth consistent with recent graves at two churches in the ancient city of Aksum.

Notwithstanding initial victory by Ethiopian and alliance forces, Tigrayan forces remained defiant. The Tigrayan forces marshaled resources and retook Mekelle, the capital of Tigray in June, 2021 eight-months after it had fallen to the Ethiopian and alliance troops. The Tigrayan forces continued on a path of victories and took control of several key towns in the Amhara region in August, 2021 triggering large scale displacements.

Towns occupied by TPLF include Lalibela, a World Heritage site famed for its 12th and 13th century churches carved from rock. Although no destruction has been reported in Lalibela, reports state that the TPLF looted churches in the region of money, food and ancient manuscripts.

It is absolutely vital that we have the full cooperation and support of all parties to the conflict so that we can reach all affected populations with urgently needed food assistance before we have a humanitarian catastrophe on our hands across all of northern Ethiopia,” said Tomson Phiri, World Food Programme (WFP) spokesperson.

“Up to seven million people across the three regions (Tigray, Amhara and Afar) are now in dire need of food assistance; 5.2 million people in Tigray and the rest are in Afar and in Amhara,” he told journalists in Geneva.

In Afar and Amhara regions over 840,000 people (700,000 in Amhara and 140,000 in Afar) have been displaced due to the current conflict, according to government estimates.

Currently, the UN’s aid programme to Tigray requires about 100 trucks a day carrying food non-food items and fuel; but these are being hampered due to inability of trucks to return after completing deliveries to Tigray. Truck drivers allege that numerous security check points and harassment are the cause of the distribution challenges. Early in October 2021, protests by UN officials on the ground, resulted in the request by the Ethiopian federal government for seven UN personnel to leave the country accusing them of meddling in the internal affairs of Ethiopia.

As a reprisal for the continued TPLF offensive, Ethiopian security forces have carried out rampant arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances of Tigrayan civilians in Addis Ababa. “In mid-July the Addis Ababa police commissioner, told the media that over 300 Tigrayans had been arrested, claiming they were under investigation for their alleged support for the TPLF, which Ethiopia’s parliament in May, 2021 designated a terrorist group.”

Hopes of a ceasefire in the war have been dashed. On 11 October, 2021 TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda said the Ethiopian army – alongside allied forces from the northern Amhara region – began a counter-attack to push Tigrayan forces out of Amhara.

Obviously, it may be difficult for Ethiopia to stop this self-inflicted war. However, the African Union must impress on both sides to accept a peaceful resolution to the conflict to stop the famine and war crimes. A peaceful Ethiopia will no doubt preserve the numerous heritage sites which attest to a thriving ancient African civilization.

By Baafuo Osei
The Writer is a Strategic Advisor at Exocom Communications