We have been reporting on the escalating war in Ethiopia since it broke out two weeks ago.
Hopes of a quick and peaceful resolution in Ethiopia between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) seemed to have been dashed last week after violent clashes killed hundreds and sent 11,000 people fleeing to Sudan, a report said.
The nearly two-week conflict has the entire region on edge. The BBC reported forces in Tigray launched rockets into Eritrea after accusing its neighbor of allowing the Ethiopian military to use an airport to carry out military operations.
Ahmed took to Twitter on Sunday to downplay the claim that his forces were being aided by its neighbor. He said his own military was “capable of attaining the objectives of the operation by itself.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that humanitarian groups see a crisis developing as Ahmed’s military takes on local troops in Tigray by the ground and air. It is believed more than 500 people have been killed during the 11-day clash. Internet connection in the region has been cut.
Ahmed, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his part in ending the war with Eritrea, has accused the TPLF of attacking a military base. Tensions were brewing between Ahmed and the TPLF after the region held its own election in September without the government in Addis Ababa’s approval.
Ahmed, who came into power in 2018, reportedly wants to centralize the government. He sees Tigray as a potential threat because it makes up about 6 percent of the country’s 110 million population. The Journal said the TPLF could have up to 250,000 fighters.
The leader of the TLPF told the WSJ that Ahmed is a “warmonger” who has benefited from the support of Eritrean troops in the conflict, which has been denied by Eritrea.
“Tigray will be one bloody mess, a grinding stalemate,” Rashid Abdi, an analyst of the region, told the Journal. “Better to stop the war now and find a peaceful settlement.”
TRENDPOST: As the “Greatest Depression” worsens, economic conditions will deteriorate and civil unrest, which had been quelled, will escalate. As Gerald Celente has long noted, “When all else fails, they take you to war.”
And, as we have noted, Ethiopia’s economy had been steadily growing and was strong until the COVID War severely damaged it.
The greater the tensions rise and the deeper the nation falls economically, the more people in this highly populated nation will seek refuge in safe-haven European nations. This will in turn boost populist political party movements throughout the Eurozone. These movements will also gain strength as economic conditions and calls for self-sustainability increase.
