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Eritrean involvement in the Tigray War | |||||
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![]() | Tigray Defense Forces |
Since the start of Tigray War in November 2020, the Eritrean government has been heavily involved in the war against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in support of the Ethiopian government.
During the Ethiopian Civil War (1974–1991), both the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) allied with each other, first against the Derg, and then the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia after 1987. These friendly relations initially continued after they won the civil war and Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia – this time, run by a TPLF-led coalition government called the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). [1] [2] [3] However, relations soon began to deteriorate significant due to disagreements about the exact location of the new Ethiopian–Eritrean border, culminating in a full-scale war between the two states, [4] [5] in which both countries engaged in human rights violations, including rape, torture, beatings, internment and forced expulsions of civilians. [6] [7]
On 12 December 2000, the Algiers Agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea was signed, marking an official end to major hostilities. [8] Among other conditions, the treaty also established an independent commission to determine the exact placement of the border. In 2002, the Permanent Count of Arbitration awarded small portions of territory to both states; they also ruled, however, that Badme, a town that was at the centre of the border dispute, belonged to Eritrea (while also finding, in a 2005 ruling, that Eritrea broke international law by attempting to take the town through an invasion). [9] [10] Although both countries initially agreed to respect this agreement, [11] by 2003, Ethiopia had rejected it, primarily due to the Badme decision, and Eritrea was not interested in a renegotiation. [12] [13]
Relations between Eritrea and the TPLF-led Ethiopia continued to remain tense as a result of these disagreements, becoming a sticking point in the ensuing border conflict. Through the 2000s and most of the 2010s, both countries engaged in sporadic battles [14] and border skirmishes. [15] [16] Reportedly, they also funded proxy conflicts against each other throughout the region, including insurgencies in Afar, Ogaden, and Somalia. [17] [18] [19] [20] Eritrea is also known to have used Ethiopia’s continued presence in Badme as an official justification for its widely condemned [21] [22] [23] practice of indefinite conscription, which has been ongoing since the 1990s. [24] By the time the conflict drew to a close in 2018, Eritrea–TPLF relations had been actively hostile for roughly 20 years. [25]
On 2 April 2018, Abiy Ahmed was sworn in by parliament as Ethiopia's new prime minister, following the resignation of Hailemariam Desalegn, who had done so in the wake of major protests against him. [26] Very soon thereafter, Ethiopia announced a willingness to negotiate a peaceful end to the border conflict, [27] a move that came as a surprise to both Eritrea and outside observers. [28] [29] Still, talks for peace went forward, and 3 months after Abiy's term began, the conflict officially ended with the Eritrea–Ethiopia peace summit; with this, Ethiopia accepted Eritrean territorial claims over Badme, and diplomatic relations were reestablished for the first time in decades. [30] For many, this summit was widely celebrated, and in 2019, Abiy received a Nobel Peace Prize for these efforts. [31] [32] [33] [34]
However, many within the Tigray Region, including the residents of Badme itself, were heavily critical of this motion for peace, and saw this as a betrayal, or a "desecration" of those who died in the 1998–2000 war. According to Reuters , one local official was quoted as saying that, while they were not against peace with Eritrea, they also "do not want peace by giving away this land after all the sacrifice." The people of Badme were allegedly not informed about the government's plans to do this. [35] The TPLF condemned the peace initiatives, saying they were hastily made, had "fundamental flaws," and also claimed it was decided on without consulting long-time TPLF members. [36]
There has been some speculation about the possible reasons for why Eritrean–Ethiopian relations shifted so significantly towards cooperation. Among some analysts, it has been suggested that this is due to a common animosity towards the TPLF held by both Eritrea, as well as non-Tigrayan Ethiopian officials that have resented the TPLF's dominance in Ethiopian politics since 1991. [37] [38] While relations with Ethiopia were in the process of being normalized, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki was heavily critical of the TPLF, describing them as "vultures." [39]
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While official confirmation from Ethiopia and Eritrea did not occur until March–April 2021, Eritrea was already heavily suspected to be involved in the war since the beginning. [1] [37] [40] [41] [42] According to the TPLF, one of their rationales for attacking the Ethiopian Northern Command in early November 2020 – the event generally considered to mark the beginning of the war – was "preemptive self-defense" against (what they claimed to be) an incoming, coordinated attack by Eritrean and Ethiopian forces. [43] Eritrea regularly sent soldiers to support the Ethiopian federal government forces against the TPLF. Their involvement has wider implications, with Eritrea explicitly supporting Ethiopia militarily, a major change following two decades of hostile diplomatic relations. [44]
On 28–29 November 2020, witnesses and survivors, including refugees in Sudan, reported that the Eritrean Defence Forces carried out a massacre in Axum that killed between 100 and 800 civilians. [45] [46] These reports have been corroborated by a number of news agencies and human rights organizations. [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] The Eritrean government stated that it was angered by Amnesty International's report on the massacre, claiming it was "transparently unprofessional" and "politically motivated," accusing Amnesty of fabricating evidence. [52]
The situation on the ground changed drastically following a guerilla warfare campaign by the TDF, and in February 2021, the UN chief coordinator of humanitarian efforts Mark Lowcock said that up to 40% of Tigray was not controlled by Ethiopian troops. He said that much of that area was under the control of Eritrean soldiers pursuing their own objectives independent of Ethiopian command. [53]
Refugees told Vice World News that Eritrea was in control of parts of the northern Maekelay Zone and most likely extending beyond the zone. Different refugees told VICE that not only did Eritreans cross into border areas, but they also took control of the area. One refugee from Maekelay told them "Since the war started, we haven't seen a single Ethiopian soldier. Only Eritreans, they occupy the rural areas." [54]
Tigrayan leaders alleged that the Eritrean forces' use of United Arab Emirates-made drones was a main factor for Tigray force resistance and re-entered to Mekelle in June 2021. [55] On 16 June 2021, the Ethiopian ambassador to the UN stated that Eritrean troops in Tigray were to "definitely leave soon," [56] but Eritrea would continue sending in forces long after this.
Fighting largely subsided during the first ceasefire period from March through August of 2022.[ citation needed ]
The Ethiopia–Tigray Peace Agreement, signed in November 2022, established a permanent ceasefire between Ethiopia and Tigray although Eritrea was not a party to it. Eritrean forces continued to launch attacks on Tigrayans throughout November and December. [57] [58] [59] From 17 to 25 November alone, Eritrea was reported to have destroyed 241 houses and killed at least 111 people. [60]
On May 25, 2023, a mission led by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs deputy head of Ethiopia, composed of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Department for Safety and Security, the World Health Organization, and other international non-governmental organizations, was prohibited from entering Gemhalo village in Tahtay Adiyabo woreda [district] by Eritrean forces, according to aid workers. [61]
Eritrean troops allied with Ethiopia's government may have "committed war crimes and crimes against humanity" in Tigray, raping, enslaving and executing civilians for months after the signing of a peace agreement according to Amnesty International. [62] [63]
Isaias Afwerki is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory on 24 May 1991, ending the 30-year-old war for independence from Ethiopia. In addition to being president, Isaias has been the chairman of Eritrea's sole legal political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). As Eritrea has never had a functioning constitution, no elections, no legislature and no published budget, Isaias has been the sole power in the country, controlling its judiciary and military. Hence, scholars and historians have long considered him to be a dictator, described his regime as totalitarian, by way of forced conscription; the United Nations and Amnesty International cited him for human rights violations. In 2022, Reporters Without Borders ranked Eritrea, under the government of Isaias, last out of 180 countries in its Press Freedom Index. In 2023 Eritrea ranked 174th out of 180 countries on the Press Freedom Index.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front, also called the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist, paramilitary group, and the former ruling party of Ethiopia. It was classified as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government from May 2021 until its removal from the list in March 2023. In older texts and Amharic publications, it is known as Woyane or Wayane.
Abiy Ahmed Ali is an Ethiopian politician serving as the third Prime Minister of Ethiopia since 2018, and as the leader of the Prosperity Party since 2019. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize "for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea". Abiy served as the third chairman of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) that governed Ethiopia for 28 years and the first person of Oromo descent to hold that position. Abiy is a member of the Ethiopian parliament, and was a member of the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP), one of the then four coalition parties of the EPRDF, until its rule ceased in 2019 and he formed his own party, the Prosperity Party.
The Tigray War was an armed conflict that lasted from 3 November 2020 to 3 November 2022. The war was primarily fought in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia between forces allied to the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on the other.
The Mai Kadra massacre was a massacre and ethnic cleansing carried out during the Tigray War on 9–10 November 2020 in the town of Mai Kadra in Welkait in northwestern Ethiopia, near the Sudanese border. Responsibility was attributed to a pro-TPLF youth group and forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in the EHRC-OHCHR Tigray Investigation, preliminary investigations by Amnesty International, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), and interviews conducted in Mai Kadra by Agence France-Presse. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and EHRC reported that at least 5 Tigrayans were killed in Mai Kadra by Amhara militas such as Fano in retaliation. Tigrayan refugees in Sudan told multiple news outlets that Tigrayans in Mai Kadra were targeted by either Amhara militias, the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), or both.
The Mekelle offensive was a military campaign fought between the armed forces of Ethiopia and the Tigray Region to reach the city of Mekelle in the Tigray Region, from 17 November to 28 November 2020. It was part of the Tigray War.
This timeline of the Tigray War is part of a chronology of the military engagements of the Tigray War, a civil war that began in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia in early November 2020.
On 3–4 November 2020, forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) launched attacks on the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) Northern Command headquarters in Mekelle and bases in Adigrat, Agula, Dansha, and Sero in the Tigray Region, marking the beginning of the Tigray War. The Ethiopian federal government stated that these attacks justified the ENDF's military action against the TPLF, which, at the time the attacks occurred, held control over the Tigray Region. The TPLF described the action as "a pre-emptive strike."
The Axum massacre was a massacre of about 100–800 civilians that took place in Axum during the Tigray War. The main part of the massacre occurred on the afternoon and evening of 28 November 2020, continuing on 29 November, with smaller numbers of extrajudicial killings taking place earlier, starting from 19 November and during the weeks following the 28–29 November weekend. The massacre was attributed to the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) by Amnesty International, Associated Press, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Adigrat University lecturer Getu Mak.
All sides of the Tigray War have been repeatedly accused of committing war crimes since it began in November 2020. In particular, the Ethiopian federal government, the State of Eritrea, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Amhara regional forces have been the subject of numerous reports of both war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Tigrayan peace process encompasses the series of proposals, meetings, agreements and actions that aimed to resolve the Tigray War.
Following the 2018 dissolution of the ethnic federalist, dominant party political coalition, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, there was an increase in tensions within the country, with newly resurgent regional and ethnically based factions carrying out armed attacks on military and civilians in multiple conflicts throughout Ethiopia.
The Humera massacre was an ethnic mass murder event carried out in November 2020 in the town of Humera in the Tigray Region of northwestern Ethiopia, next to the Sudanese border. The massacre took place during an armed conflict between the regional government of Tigray and the federal government of Ethiopia. Refugees attributed the massacre to Amhara militias, including Fano, and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF).
This Timeline of the Tigray War is part of a chronology of the military engagements of the Tigray War, a civil war that began in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia in early November 2020.
This Timeline of the Tigray War is part of a chronology of the military engagements of the Tigray War, a civil war that began in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia in early November 2020.
In the late hours of 7 January 2022, the Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) carried out an airstrike on a camp for internally displaced persons (IDP) set up in Dedebit Elementary School, located in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Between 56 and 59 people were killed in the attack, and at least 30 others were left injured.
Abiy Ahmed's tenure as prime minister of Ethiopia began on 2 April 2018 with his swearing-in at the Ethiopian parliament, succeeding Hailemariam Desalegn. Abiy is the first person of Oromo descent to hold the office, and became chair of the ruling Prosperity Party after the dissolution of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) in November 2019.
The 1995 Ethiopian Federal Constitution formalizes an ethnic federalism law aimed at undermining long-standing ethnic imperial rule, reducing ethnic tensions, promoting regional autonomy, and upholding unqualified rights to self-determination and secession in a state with more than 80 different ethnic groups. But the constitution is divisive, both among Ethiopian nationalists who believe it undermines centralized authority and fuels interethnic conflict, and among ethnic federalists who fear that the development of its vague components could lead to authoritarian centralization or even the maintenance of minority ethnic hegemony. Parliamentary elections since 1995 have taken place every five years since enactment. All but one of these have resulted in government by members of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) political coalition, under three prime ministers. The EPRDF was under the effective control of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which represents a small ethnic minority. In 2019 the EPRDF, under Abiy, was dissolved and he inaugurated the pan-ethnic Prosperity Party which won the 2021 Ethiopian Election, returning him as prime minister. But both political entities were different kinds of responses to the ongoing tension between constitutional ethnic federalism and the Ethiopian state's authority. Over the same period, and all administrations, a range of major conflicts with ethnic roots have occurred or continued, and the press and availability of information have been controlled. There has also been dramatic economic growth and liberalization, which has itself been attributed to, and used to justify, authoritarian state policy.
The Ethiopia–Tigray peace agreement, commonly called the Pretoria Agreement or the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA), is a peace treaty between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) that was signed 2 November 2022, wherein both parties agreed to a "permanent cessation of hostilities" to end the Tigray War. The agreement was made effective the next day on 3 November, marking the two-year anniversary of the war.
Anti-Eritrean sentiment is a broad opposition, bias, discrimination and hatred against Eritrea, its government and people. Anti-Eritrean attitude is prevalent amongst Tigrayan elites, who were crucial parts for downfall of the Derg regime in 1991. The 1998 border war exacerbated their relations as both parties accused each other for the territorial claims. Eritrean involvement in the Tigray War further aggravated anti-Eritrean feelings amongst Tigrayans.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)The Ethiopian government calls the Ogaden rebels terrorists and says they are armed and trained by Eritrea, Ethiopia's neighbor and bitter enemy. One of the reasons Ethiopia decided to invade Somalia was to prevent the rebels from using it as a base.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)With their hopes dashed that peace with Ethiopia would bring an end to national service, young Eritreans must either accept a life of forced labour or flee
…despite claims by officials that conscription would be limited to 18 months, national service continues to be indefinite, often lasting for decades.
'All those who condone violation of international law and tolerate occupation have no rights whatsoever to accuse Eritrea of prolonged service,' [Eritrean Information Minister Yemane G. Meskel] said on Twitter, in reference to Ethiopia's presence in Badme, a disputed territory that triggered a 1998-2000 conflict.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)Abiy Ahmed and Isaias Afwerki are racing toward peace because they both face the same threat: hard-liners in the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)The TPLF said it acted preemptively because it got intelligence that the Ethiopian federal government was planning to launch an attack on Tigray in collaboration with Eritrea, with whom Abiy's government signed a peace deal in 2018.