Arthur Greene
As rebel forces in Ethiopia reportedly close in on the capital Addis Ababa, citizens, politicians and government officials are racing to escape the country.
Planes leaving the city are completely booked up as the city prepares for an uncertain fate with the arrival of Tigray and Oromo forces.
It’s the latest deadly chapter in a conflict that started In November last year between government forces led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the country’s northern region.
The conflict reignited ethnic tensions in this hugely diverse country, threatening a regional war, while more than a million people are said to be starving.
It soon escalated into an all out ethnically charged war, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people. Abiy, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is responsible for much of the killing and using starvation as a weapon of war – a war crime.
Abiy was partnered in his war by the ethnic militia of the country’s Amhara group and the military of the neighbouring country of Eritrea.
More recently, another rebel group, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), have joined the Tigrayans in taking up arms against the government,
The government of Abiy gambled everything on a massive offensive last month. But despite having superior numbers and more advanced weapons they were decisively defeated by the rebel forces streaming south towards Addis.
On Wednesday, Facebook removed a post made by Abiy on Sunday calling for the citizens of Addis Ababa to take up arms against the TPLF and OLA rebels closing in on the city.
“Our people should march … with any weapon and resources they have to defend, repulse and bury the terrorist TPLF,” Abiy wrote in the post, which was removed for inciting violence.
Despite Ahmed’s post, a peaceful transition of power is still possible, argues the Ethiopia Cable Team.
This, however, relies on leaving office peacefully.
Negotiations to convince Ahmed to leave quietly are apparently being led by Kenya and the US.
