Eritrea likely to join the Ethiopian Civil war in the Tigray region

Dictator Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.




According to sources In Eritrea told Somali Times Eritrea is involving civil war in Ethiopia The growing concern is the small country in northern Eritrea’s neighboring Tigray region, shielding Abiy Ahmed’s decision, but there are no doubt that there have been reports of heavy recruitment of Eritrean youth and military activities. Inside Eritrea in this border region.

The military action in Addis Ababa comes after months of conflict between the central government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which has ruled Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades until Abiy took power in 2018.



The animosity between the longtime Eritrean President, dictator Isaias Afwerki and the TPLF has resurfaced for decades – but not always. From the mid 1970s until the early 1990s, Liberation of Eritrea (EPLF), and Isaias established, and the team TPLF sister was true of the military government of Ethiopia led by Mengistu Haile Mariam.

Mengistu was ousted in May 1991, and two years later Eritrea gained its independence in a referendum. Meanwhile, the TPLF has become the leader of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), with the late Tigray leader Meles Zenawi as the country’s prime minister. In 1998, Eritrea and Ethiopia, however, fought a bitter land, economic and political war that left tens of thousands dead. Although the Algiers peace agreement in December 2000 ended the border conflict, Ethiopia and Eritrea have been in a state of armed conflict for nearly 18 years during and after Meles’ rule.



Cold war appeared to have ended the same intimacy Abiy and dictator Isaias, when he took office in April 2018, he was replaced by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and the months of protests against the government.

After weeks of secret talks within the EPRDF represented by Abiy, he is believed to have overcome opposition from the TPLF, which was previously the most powerful to win the chairmanship of the multi-ethnic coalition, a position he held. Set to become Ethiopia’s prime minister In July 2018, a series of rapid diplomatic exchanges between Addis Ababa and Eritrea led to success, with long-standing animosity being replaced by compromise and diplomatic relations.

Martin Plaut, a long-time observer of the Horn of Africa politics, says the ambiguous nature of Ethiopian-Eritrean diplomacy has been slowly fed up with Ethiopia’s internal political divisions. “It is not possible to confirm the Eritrea’s role in Ethiopia’s civil war. “Since the first visit each other’s capitals in July 2018, there has never been a press conference where journalists can ask either Prime Minister Abiy or President Isaias what they hope to achieve,” he said. Plaut.



“The statements were false and untrue. “However, it is clear that the relationship today is so close that it is impossible for the Ethiopian leader to carry out such a large-scale operation on the Eritrean border, without specifying his opposing number,” Plaut added. .

Although the Isaias administration has repeatedly reiterated its deep animosity towards the TPLF, Eritrea’s involvement in the current conflict remains unclear. Meanwhile, the loss of telephone and internet connections in Tigray has made it difficult to verify the situation in the region and across the border, leading to speculation.

“There have been reports of heavy recruitment of Eritrean youth and military activities in Eritrea, near the border with Tigray. Some were expecting a coordinated operation against Tigray by Ethiopians from the south and Eritreans from the north. So far this does not seem to have happened, ”said Martin.

“The Eritrean offensive is still going on, but the Tigrayans are well-armed and President Isaias may demand his time to see if the Prime Minister’s forces can do so.