Ethiopia: Another offensive on Tigray

Ethiopia’s central government confirms another military offensive against Tigray: there has been heavy fighting since the beginning of the week. In addition, President Abiy relies on isolation – and hunger as a weapon.

The situation in northern Ethiopia is deteriorating. The government of the East African country has confirmed that it has launched a new offensive against the so-called Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). There has been heavy fighting since the beginning of the week. Apparently, numerous people were killed. The Ethiopian government said literally that the enemy had suffered heavy losses. A spokesman for the TPLF said days ago that the number of victims was staggering.

There is fighting not only in Tigray, but also in the neighboring regions. The army also attacks from the air. According to the TPLF, it continues to be supported by troops from neighboring Eritrea. A ceasefire, which Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared a few weeks ago, has now finally become obsolete.

Tens of thousands of children are malnourished

The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize laureate was recently confirmed in office following elections. Since then, he seems to have been doing everything in his power to turn off the TPLF for good. Their relatives had dominated politics and the military in Ethiopia for decades. As Abiy came to power, they were more and more marginalized. The political disputes escalated and the head of government sent troops to Tigray a year ago.

Numerous people have fled the region since then. Large refugee camps have sprung up just across the Sudanese border. Those who do not make it out are now acutely threatened by hunger. Aid deliveries to Tigray hardly get through. There are allegations against the government that they want to starve the population outright. The United Nations has only just warned that the number of severely malnourished children has risen dramatically: almost 20,000 have already had to be taken to hospitals.

Aid organizations have to withdraw

There are also reports of the first deaths from starvation. However, all of this information is difficult to confirm because the region as a whole is cut off from the outside world: journalists are refused entry. Telephone connections to Tigray no longer work.

Several high-ranking officials from the United Nations have since been expelled from the country. Among other things, employees of the UN Emergency Aid Office, which had previously criticized that only about ten percent of the aid deliveries get through. Aid organizations like “Doctors Without Borders” had to stop their work completely. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed relies on total isolation – and is successful with it.