An internal conflict in Ethiopia is used to resolve a long-running territorial dispute between two of its northern states.
Forces in the Amhara region took control of several areas of Tigray after supporting federal troops who organized a raid on its neighbor’s territory, said Gizachew Muluneh, a spokesman for the Amhara government. Fighting has continued in Tigray since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered the army to retaliate after forces loyal to Tigray’s ruling party attacked a military camp in November.
The land “was taken by force and has now been returned by force,” Gizachew said. “While it wasn’t our original goal, it happened by default.”
The Amharas, one of Ethiopia’s two largest ethnic groups, claim that the disputed territory falls under their jurisdiction. They were forced to relinquish authority in 1991 after an alliance led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front took control of the country and reconfigured it into nine semi-autonomous states. Last year a 10th state was established.
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The Abyy administration has approved the reinstatement of the disputed territories, including the districts of Welkait, Tegede, Humera, Telemte and Raya, in Amhara, according to Gizachew. A ruling by the Federation House is now expected to legalize the process and Amhara will provisionally administer the areas, he said.
Occupy land
Calls to Federation House Speaker Adam Farah went unanswered. Redwan Hussein, a spokesman for the government working group, and Billene Seyoum, a spokesman for Abyy, declined to comment.
Abraha Desta, a member of the Tigray interim administration appointed by Abiy after the raid, opposed a redetermination of the borders. In a post on Facebook, he called on the government “to stop the atrocities committed by Amhara special forces who took advantage of the security breach” to “invade and forcibly occupy our land.”
Tens of thousands of people have left the disputed territory. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress last week that they were forcibly displaced in an ethnic cleansing campaign, a complaint the Ethiopian government dismissed as “false.” “.
Read more: Ethiopia says US claims of ethnic cleansing are “false”
Aid agencies working in the region confirmed that Tigrayans’ bus loads had been forcibly removed from parts of western Tigray, many had been killed and houses, businesses and homes had been looted and destroyed. farms.
Ethiopia’s ambassador to Kenya, Meles Alem, told reporters on Tuesday that humanitarian assistance has been delivered to most of Tigray. He also rejected a report by Médecins Sans Frontières according to which most health centers in the region were not functioning normally.
– With the assistance of David Herbling
(Updates with comments from the Ethiopian diplomat in the final paragraph)