How the world got Abiy Ahmed and Ethiopia so wrong “In less than two years, Abiy has gone from darling of the international community to pariah, condemned for his role in presiding over a protracted civil war that, by many accounts, bears the hallmarks of genocide and has the potential to destabilize the wider Horn of Africa region.”
Biden Threatens New Sanctions Against Ethiopia War Leaders
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate now exposed to possible sanctions, reacted with indignation and defiance. In a three-page statement, his office accused the West of bias, denounced any criticisms of Ethiopia as the product of neocolonial impulses, and showed no sign that he intended to bow to Mr. Biden’s demands.
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“Nearly one million people are living in famine-like conditions,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. “Humanitarian workers have been blocked, harassed and killed. I am appalled by the reports of mass murder, rape and other sexual violence to terrorize civilian populations.”
Ethiopia’s Tigray war: The short, medium and long story
As Africa’s second-most populous country, Ethiopia is pivotal to stability in the Horn of Africa.
There is also a concern that the conflict could further exacerbate ethnic tensions and could lead to the break-up of the country.
Abiy Ahmed’s Counterrevolution: The Tigray conflict is a struggle over the idea of Ethiopia.
The Tigray war is also a counterrevolution: a ruthless repudiation of the progressive ideals that animated a generation of Ethiopians.
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By 2017, with Zenawi gone, his hapless successors were exhausted, and people pressed for democratic change. Reform was always going to be fraught, more likely to result in a turbulent market in political allegiances than a mature democracy. But, mismanaged by Abiy, the process has descended into something far more alarming: war, mass starvation, and the disassembly of the state itself.
Steal, Burn, Rape, Kill: Alex de Waal on Ethiopia’s new famine
Until a few weeks ago, Tigrayans were hopeful that famine could still be averted through a combination of emergency aid and stores of seed and fertiliser. Now that the rains are falling it’s too late. If Eritrea could be forced to withdraw through a UN Security Council resolution, they argue, Tigray wouldn’t starve. But the Eritreans are digging in: towns are being encircled with trenches. Last week, the UK special envoy for famine prevention, Nick Dyer, tweeted: ‘Just back from Tigray. The humanitarian crisis is worsening and the risk of famine conditions growing.’ But famine is no longer a risk, as another senior diplomat wrote privately: it’s a ‘mathematical certainty’. With their arms twisted by the Ethiopians, it seems likely that the UN and donors will stick with circumlocution and euphemism. If this isn’t a famine then the word has no meaning.
‘I just cry’: Dying of hunger in Ethiopia’s blockaded Tigray
In the most extensive account yet of the blockade’s toll, a humanitarian worker told the AP that deaths from starvation are being reported in “every single” district of the more than 20 in Tigray where one aid group operates. The group had run out of food aid and fuel. The worker, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.