Ethiopia: The Crisis Unfolding in Tigray
By: Anna Magruder
I would like to preface this post with a couple of notions. One, there are some sensitive topics that are mentioned, so discretion is advised. Two, this crisis which has been ongoing for a couple of years is one of the largest recent instances of mass genocide and is, therefore, very necessary to discuss and understand. This post will go into a detailed story of the context leading up to the civil war and the war’s effects on citizens in Tigray, Ethiopia.
Background of the Civil War
Before delving into the current events that have been ongoing in Tigray, it is important to first gain an understanding as to where the conflict originated. Ethiopia has three main ethnic groups: the Oromo, Amhara, and the Tigray. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) ethnic minority made up the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which had authoritarian rule over the country up until 2018. They were led by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who led 27 years of repression. This led him to step down in 2018 and Abiy Ahmed was elected by the Amhara and Oromo ethnic groups, who made up most of Ethiopia’s population.
TPLF officials were upset after they lost the election, so they went back to their home in the Tigray Region and led them independently for 3 years, clashing heads a lot with the federal government. Towards the end of 2019, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed merged the political parties already existing to the Prosperity Party. The TPLF refused to be a part of this party, so this led to increased tensions between the two groups. In March 2020, the National Election Board of Ethiopia delayed the election that was meant to occur in August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The TPLF thought that this was unconstitutional and decided to host their own election in defiance of the federal government. Journalists who went to Tigray to cover the election were barred by the federal government. When Abiy Ahmed found out about the election, he responded by cutting all federal funding to the region.
The Start of the Conflict
On November 3rd, 2020, Tigray Special Forces attacked the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF). Many were killed, but the TPLF claimed that the attack was performed out of self-defense. On November 4th, an Ethiopian offensive was launched in retaliation along with the declaration of a state of emergency. Ethiopian offensives took airstrikes on the region and took over several cities and towns.
On November 9th and 10th, 600 civilians were killed in a massacre in Mai Kadra by police and local militia loyal to the TPLF who used machetes and knives. This was according to the preliminary investigations by Amnesty International and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. However, refugees interviewed by the Financial Times said that it was the Amhara militia attacking and the Tigrayans who were victims. Two days later, the Amhara militias and the ENDF beat and killed 20 Tigrayans in Humera (and the ENDF then had control over Humera). The United Arab Emirates teamed up with the ENDF and bombed Tigrayan towns and defense forces. The Tigray tried and failed to shoot a missile at the Eritrean capital of Asmara.
Mekelle
On November 17, 2020, the federal government accused the TPLF of blowing up 4 of the bridges that lead to Mekelle, which the TPLF denied. Over the next 2 days, the Ethiopian forces captured 4 more towns in the region as well as the Raya district. There were 760 casualties in Raya. Ethiopian forces then circled the capital of Mekelle and stated that they would shell the city, warning citizens that they would show no mercy and that now was the time to leave. The next morning, they shelled the whole city, killing 27 and injuring 100.
The TPLF retreated to the mountainous areas to reorganize. The Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) had lost artillery from the air strikes, so they started a guerrilla campaign starting from the mountains. Ethiopia set up a violently enforced curfew. In the town of Wukro, over 200 were killed and the town was left deserted. By April 2021, thanks to the guerilla tactics, the TDF was in control of central and southern areas with parts of eastern and southeastern Tigray, while the ENDF had the main roads and urban areas.
On January 9, 2021, Ethiopian TV reported that 300 refugees in Hitsats camp were executed by the TPLF. Refugees say that TPLF forces used the Hitsats as a base, killing the refugees who wanted to leave and get food and, once, killed 9 Eritrean men for having lost a battle against the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF).
Eritrean occupation of the Northeast
At the end of November 2020, the Eritrean Defense Forces carried out the Axum massacre, killing 720-800 civilians. Due to the guerrilla warfare of the TDF, as of February 2021, 40% of Tigray was not controlled by Ethiopian troops. In June 2021, the Ethiopian ambassador said that the Eritrean troops would “definitely leave soon.”
On June 28th, 2021, the Tigray Defense Forces took back Mekelle from the Ethiopians. The people paraded through the streets in celebration. Abiy Ahmed called for an immediate ceasefire across Tigray. On June 29th, Tigrayan forces decided that they would follow with their current momentum and drive into Eritrea and the Amhara Region. On June 30th, they took over the town of Shire and it was determined that the TDF now had control over most of the Tigray region. The Ethiopian government responded saying that they could get Mekelle back in 3 weeks if they wanted to.
On July 6, 2021, the Tigrayan government decided to retake western Tigray. They started an offensive on July 12th and ended up taking control of Southern Tigray. Abiy responded by threatening to resume war against the TDF and crush the rebels. He then called on the other regions of Ethiopia to get their special forces ready, which they did. In response, the TDF invaded the Afar region, prompting surrounding regions to join the war as well. This fighting caused 54,000 people to be displaced and three districts to be captured by the TDF. After this attack, the Amhara regional president called for complete mobilization of all people of all ages who could fight against the Tigrayans. Afar made a similar call, which led to the UNICEF leader expressing his concern: Henrietta Fore had reports of over 200 people, including 100 children, getting killed in attacks on displaced families.
On August 11th, 2021, the TDF and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) formed an alliance to overthrow Abiy Ahmed. Many cities implemented curfews.
On October 8th, 2021, a massive air strike began against the TDF in the Amhara region, led by the Ethiopian Air Force. There was a “massive buildup of forces on all fronts,” according to Tigrayan spokesperson Getachew Reda. On October 11th, the Ethiopians launched ground attacks on all fronts with tanks, helicopters, heavy artillery, warplanes, and drones. This attack basically ended the ceasefire that was declared back in June. With the end of the ceasefire, the federal government implemented an even worse blockade of aid. This led to widespread famine across the region. What ensued from here was enough to cause growing concern in surrounding countries: fighting on the ground spread out tens of kilometers out from the original town in Amhara. The casualties were stacking up as the war got more and more deadly.
TDF-OLA Counter Offensive
On October 31st, 2021, the TDF captured the town of Kombolcha, causing the Ethiopian government to accuse them of killing over 100 youths. The Amhara region declared a state of emergency with a region wide curfew on the same day. The OLA claimed they had control over a city on one of their larger highways and declared they were planning an offensive against the capital. The TDF stated they were allied with the OLA.
On November 2nd, 2021, the federal government issued a 6-month state of emergency, which would allow them to detain anyone who criticizes the government without a court warrant, enact curfews, restrict freedom of movement, and call anyone to fight in the war if they feared serving time in prison. Through the rest of November and December, the Ethiopian forces took over some cities while Tigrayan forces took over others. On December 20th, 2021, the TDF requested a ceasefire. After the ceasefire request, the Ethiopians agreed to not advance deeper. On January 26th, 2022, the Ethiopian council of ministers proposed to end the state of emergency.
War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
Of course, a civil war to this degree does not come without consequences for the civilians of Tigray as well as any other city or town involved in the conflict. The war crimes involved were starvation used as warfare, rape as a weapon, ethnic cleansing, genocide, shelling of civilians, executions of prisoners of war, removal of means of survival, and destruction of cultural infrastructure.
Starvation as a Means of Warfare
The Ethiopian and Eritrean governments were determined by the World Peace Foundation to be responsible for the mass starvation in Tigray. Mark Lowcock, who used to lead the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, stated in October 2021 that the Ethiopian federal government was “running a sophisticated campaign to stop aid from getting in.” Any food or medical supplies were cut short from Tigray by the government.
Due to this cutoff, as of January 20th, 2022, food aid in Tigray was considered by the United Nations to be at its all-time lowest. More than 50,000 children are thought to be extremely malnourished. Any remaining food aid or supplies are completely depleted in the region that is home to 6 million people. The conditions due to the supply blockade have become so dire that the International Committee of the Red Cross stated some doctors in Tigray must use salt to clean wounds, hand out expired medications, and reuse single-use items such as chest drains and gloves.
Amhara and Afar were also affected by the offensives previously launched by the TDF. They began rebuilding, and half a million people in Amhara received food assistance in the week of January 12th. In that same week, only 10,000 people received food aid in Tigray.
As of January 29th, 2022, medics have been left unpaid for 8 months. They, too, must beg for their food to feed themselves. Most families have had to cut the number of meals they eat per day. The prices of oils, vegetables, and grains have skyrocketed to the point no one can afford to buy. Alongside this famine, the country is very wary of any humanitarian workers entering. Those that do fly over have a long, unusual list of items they can’t bring, such as dental floss, multivitamins, can openers, and medicine (even personal medicine). Any means of documenting the crisis were also banned, such as cameras, hard drives, and flash drives. Because of trying to cover the whole thing up, Tigray is in darkness from the rest of the world, with no telecommunications, no banking services, no internet, and no aid.
Deaths from starvation are being reported in every single one of the 20 districts in Tigray. The aid groups had run out of food aid and fuel. One singular sub-district had 22 starvation-related deaths. One aid group wrote that “people’s skin color was beginning to change due to hunger; they looked emaciated with protruding skeletal bones.” In some accounts, “people are eating only green leaves for days.” One mother stated that, for the past month, her family had only eaten bread with salt. She worried they would die within the coming days. At least 150 people starved to death in August, including in camps for displaced people. The International Organization for Migration refused to speak on the topic. Some toilets in the camps are overflowing because they can’t pay for cleaning, which has also caused thousands of people to be vulnerable to outbreaks of disease.
It is estimated that 400,000 people in Tigray face famine conditions, which is more than the rest of the world combined. However, due to the blockade, experts are unable to collect the needed data to make a formal declaration of famine. Malnutrition rates are near 30% for children under 5 and 80% for pregnant and breastfeeding women. As of right now, no medical supplies or food have been delivered to Tigray in more than a month, the U.S. says, blaming “government harassment” and decisions, not the fighting occurring.
Many international aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders and the Norwegian Refugee Council have had to pause their operations because they were accused of spreading “misinformation” about the war. Two dozen aid workers have been killed, some even while giving out food. Some aid workers must even ration their own food.
Rape as a Weapon of War
Women who were treated by doctors in Tigray stated that the ENDF, EDF and Amhara soldiers raped them, describing Tigrayans as having “no history and culture” and that the intent was to “ethnically cleanse Tigray.” Across the board, the reasons for the sexual assault were described to victims as an aim of “cleansing Tigrayan blood.”
Filsan Abdi was in Abiy’s cabinet as a young minister when war broke out. She was originally drawn to his charisma and his promises to build a new, better Ethiopia. Instead, she ended up documenting horrific accounts of mass rapes by uniformed men and the recruitment of child soldiers. In fact, she had to create the task force to investigate these claims of mass rape and child soldier recruitment. She brought back some painful stories and wanted to release her findings, but higher-up officials in Abiy’s office said that that was crossing a line. She then was told to alter the story to say only TPLF-aligned fighters committed the crimes. When they wouldn’t release the full report, she tweeted that rape had taken place in Tigray.
Ethnic Cleansing
The United States government analysis described Amhara officials as carrying out an ethnic cleansing in the Mi’irabawi Zone using force and intimidation, wiping out entire villages. In contrast to these Tigrayan towns, towns in the western region of Tigray with a majority Amhara populations were thriving, bustling with bars, restaurants, and bars. Tens of thousands of people were displaced from the western zone, with 45,000 displaced people in Shire. Over 50,000 have crossed from western Tigray into Sudan. One refugee described it as “total lawlessness,” stating that “everyone wants to kill you.”
It is evident that there has been a vast buildup of events and conflict in Ethiopia that has been largely underreported in the United States. To date, the United States and the United Nations are rather uninvolved in the conflict because the Ethiopian government has closed itself off from any other countries. Because of this, no one really knows the extent of the crisis that is unfolding within the country, especially in the rural areas that aid workers and reporters are unable to reach. There is a mass famine and loss of life occurring, yet nothing that can be done in the present time.
References
Associated Press. (2022, January 20). UN: Food aid in Ethiopia's Tigray now at 'all-time lowest'. AP NEWS. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-kenya-africa ethiopia-blockades
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Bearak, M. (2021, December 16). Ethiopian refugees say they escaped 'final stage of ethnic cleansing' in western Tigray. The Washington Post. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from
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Bearak, M. (2021, December 30). She was in Abiy Ahmed's cabinet as war broke out. now she wants to set the record straight. The Washington Post. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/12/30/ethiopia-abiy-tigray-war/
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Scribner, H. (2022, January 28). Doctors are begging for food in war-torn Tigray amid Ethiopia Civil War. Deseret News. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.deseret.com/u-s world/2022/1/28/22906365/ethiopia-civil-war-tigray-whats-happening-doctors-food-supplies
Waal, A. de. (2021, October 16). Viewpoint: Why Ethiopia's Tigray Region is starving, but no famine declared. BBC News. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa 58921744