An internal conflict in Ethiopia is being used to resolve a long-standing territorial dispute between two of the northern states.
Forces from the Amhara region have taken control of several areas in Tigray after supporting federal troops who staged an invasion of the neighboring country, 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 is now being returned by force,” Gizachew said. “Although it was not our original purpose, it happened by default.”
The Amhara, 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 a Tigray Peoples Liberation Front-led alliance took control of the country and reconfigured it in nine semi-autonomous states. A tenth state was established last year.
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According to Gizachew, Abiy’s administration has approved the disputed territories, including the districts of Welkait, Tegede, Humera, Telemte and Raya, in Amhara. A decision is now awaited by the House of the Federation to legalize the process, and Amhara will meanwhile administer the territories, he said.
Occupied land
Calls to the Speaker of the House of Federation, Adan Farah, remained unanswered. Redwan Hussein, spokesperson for the government task force, and Billene Seyoum, spokesperson for Abiy, declined to comment.
Abraha Desta, a member of the Tigray interim government appointed by Abiy after the invasion, objected to the redefinition of the borders. In a Facebook message, he called on the government to ‘stop the atrocities committed by the Amhara special forces that used the security gap’ to ‘invade and occupy our country by force’.
Tens of thousands of people have left the disputed area. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress last week that they had been forcibly relocated in a campaign that amounted to ethnic cleansing – an allegation that the Ethiopian government had been dismissed as ‘false’.
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Aid agencies working in the region have confirmed that busloads of Tigrayans were forcibly removed from parts of western Tigray, many were killed, and homes, businesses and farms were looted and destroyed.
Kenya’s ambassador to Kenya, Meles Alem, told reporters on Tuesday that humanitarian aid had been provided in most of Tigray. He also rejected a report by Médecins Sans Frontières that most health care facilities in the region were not functioning normally.
– With the help of David Herbling
(Updates with comments from the Ethiopian diplomat in the last paragraph)