Ethiopian army says nation was forced into ‘aimless war’
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — This nation’s army said Thursday that the country has been forced into an “unexpected and aimless war” with its well-armed Tigray region, while Tigray asserted that fighter jets had bombed areas around its capital — a marked escalation with little sign of the two sides willing to talk to calm the crisis.
Ethiopia’s deputy army chief said military forces are being sent to the fighting in Tigray from other parts of the country.
“The army will not go anywhere,” Birhanu Jula said amid fears that the conflict would spill into other regions of Africa’s secondmost populous nation. “The war will end there.”
Tigray President Debretsion Gebremichael said that “we are in position to defend ourselves from enemies that waged war on the Ti gray region. … We are ready to be martyrs.”
Ethiopia’s government hasn’t commented ont he bombing allegation, read Thursday evening on the Tigray regional broadcaster.
The strong words came a day after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told the nation the military will carry out further operations this week in response to an alleged deadly attack on a military base by the regional government.
Observers warn that a civilwar in Ethiopia involving Tigray could destabilize the already turbulent Horn of Africa. The prime minister, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his sweeping political reforms, now faces his greatest challenge in holding together a country of some 110 million people with multiple ethnic and other grievances.
Communications remained cut off in the northern Tigray region after services disappeared around the time Ahmed’s office first announced the attack and military action early Wednesday. The lack of contact has challenged efforts to verify the Ethiopian government’s account of events.
The Tigray capital, Mekele, appeared calm Thursday morning. But skirmishes took place elsewhere, a source said.
Members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front are “fleeing and joining the army; those injured are receiving medical treatment,” Jula said.
But Gebremichael said the Ethiopian army’s northern command is siding with the Tigray people, and he confirmed that fighting also is taking place in an area bordering the Amhara region.