Ethiopian Military Alleges Eritrean, Sudanese Support for Tigray Rebels as Northern Offensive Escalates

Ethiopia’s military leadership on Sunday accused Eritrea and Sudan of providing backing to armed groups engaged in combat with federal troops in the country’s northern region.

Heavy fighting has reignited between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government since Wednesday, reviving concerns of a return to the 2020-2022 civil war that claimed an estimated 600,000 lives.

The TPLF has captured airports and launched offensives into the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions, characterizing its actions as a “defensive war” against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration.

A humanitarian source reported that the Afar town of Erebti, situated near the Tigray border, fell to rebel forces on Sunday following heavy artillery bombardment. The TPLF is now advancing toward Afdeera, approximately 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the east. The source estimated at least 150,000 people have been displaced in Afar, though precise figures remain impossible to verify.

Speaking on the army’s official YouTube channel, Chief of Staff Field Marshal Birhanu Jula stated: “We are fighting forces that are organised and allied to serve the interests of external forces. Neither Shaebia (Eritrea) nor the TPLF can achieve anything alone, even if they are allied, unless they are backed, supported and supplied by Sudan, Egypt and other external powers.”

Television Station Targeted

The TPLF has formed an alliance with seven armed groups across the country and appears to be replicating its strategy from the previous war by pushing south through Amhara toward the capital, Addis Ababa. Its offensive in Afar aims to sever supply lines from Djibouti, which handles nearly all of Ethiopia’s international trade cargo, including fuel.

The headquarters of Tigrai TV, the primary media outlet for the rebel administration in the Tigrayan capital Mekelle, was struck by a drone on Sunday. A journalist from the station, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said: “We heard a loud bang from a drone strike elsewhere and we fled the building.” The channel has not issued an official comment on the incident.

Photographs taken by a local journalist showed the Tigrai TV building’s facade damaged and blackened, with numerous windows blown out by the explosion. Another journalist reported the station, which employs approximately 400 people, went off-air following the attack. No immediate casualties were reported.

The federal government in Addis Ababa announced on September 21 that Tigrai TV had been suspended indefinitely and prohibited other outlets from broadcasting its content.

Communication Blockade

Communications have been severely restricted since Friday, when telecommunications providers reported major disruptions to phone and internet services in Tigray, complicating efforts to document the conflict.

Many residents fear a repeat of the blockade imposed by the federal government during the 2020-2022 conflict, when electricity, banking services, and nearly all humanitarian aid were cut off.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sounded the alarm on Friday, with his spokesman stating Guterres was “particularly troubled by reports of the use of drones as well as incidents of harm to civilians.”

The government holds a significant military advantage, fielding a substantial drone arsenal, an estimated 500,000 troops, and support from abroad, notably the United Arab Emirates.

However, the conflict risks drawing in neighboring Eritrea on the rebels’ side, driven by fears that landlocked Ethiopia may be planning to invade and seize direct access to the Red Sea.

The TPLF governed Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018 before being marginalized following Abiy’s ascent to the premiership. The ensuing civil war was marked by widespread war crimes and sexual violence.

The 2022 Pretoria Peace Agreement, brokered by African institutions and the United States, maintained an uneasy calm until last year but was never fully implemented, leaving roughly one million people unable to return home. Sporadic clashes have since resumed, with federal forces conducting multiple drone strikes in Tigray in recent months and massing troops at the border.

Human rights organizations have accused the TPLF of conducting a campaign of forced recruitment this year in preparation for renewed hostilities.

Source link