January 20, 2022
By Hamad Y. Issa
Uppsala, Sweden
Ethiopia is in the middle of a civil war that has been going on since November 2020 that killed thousands and displaced more than two million people. The Afar people are not immune from these conflicts. The future of the Afar people in Ethiopia depends on stability of the country.
For three decades Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) ruled Ethiopia with iron fist. TPLF has dream of creating an independent Tigray state, a “Greater Tigray” that include the resource-rich parts of the Afar region.
When TPLF’s came to power thirty years ago, the Afar people had two strong guerrilla groups (ALF & ANLF) that was the main reason why the TPLF decided to postpone its Great Tigray project in Afar region.
Systematic marginalisation of the Afar people
Immediately upon taking power in 1991, TPLF began to plan to systematically dismantle the structures that existed in Afar society by weakening the Afar traditional/political leadership, activists and freedom fighters. An Afar proverb reads, “The beauty of the Afar man is his cane, his sword, and his weapon.”
The TPLF regime forbade the Afars to wear precisely these attributes, which led to discontent and strong protests. Many clashes took place between Afar and TPLF regime when they were in power. To name a few, in 1992 in Gawani hundreds of Afars,
including tourists from Djibouti and Eritrea were killed and a couple of months later at Dat Bahari pastoralists were ruthlessly murdered.
In 1996, the TPLF succeeded in manoeuvring the two Afar guerrilla groups that ruled the region and replacing them with their own, the Tigray Afar Democratic Organization (TADO), which later changed its name to the Afar Democratic Organization (ADO).
To further undermine traditional Afar rule, they moved the Afar capital from its traditional administrative and cultural centre, Aysaita, located on fertile farms along the Awash River, to the new and completely artificial city of Samara, built in the middle of the desert. In addition to dismantling the traditional authority, the purpose of the move was to be able to quickly strike at the Afar resistance movements and remotely control the region with the help of its agents in Samara. The TPLF instructed so called advisers for the Afar region to put aside any serious developments in the region on favour of reflecting TPLF goals.
Much has happened to weaken the Afars during TPLF rule. The Afar region was declared a security risk area where martial law prevailed, partly to counter the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (ARDUF) formed in direct response to the TPLF’s brutal policy towards the Afar people, and partly to facilitate the takeover of
natural resources in the north as well as to allow the Issa-Somali terrorist group supported by the state of Djibouti to ravage freely in the south-eastern part of the region. Issa-Somali terrorist group succeeded with TPLF’s help to occupy large areas of land along the asphalt road as well as savannah-like fertile areas around the middle course of the Awash River.
The Tigrayan security police worked to persecute dissidents inside otherwise inaccessible parts of the region with the help of paid informants. This made it impossible for Afars to gather and discuss the current situation without being arrested and charged with terrorism linked to ARDUF. Because of the laws of war, the area was closed to the outside world; no information could be leaked about the human rights violations that took place.
New hope aroused after all these oppressions
In 2012, the late Prime Minster of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi, who has ruled the country since 1991 passed away. He was replaced by Prime Minster Haile Mariam Dassalegn, who has no real power to govern. Power was retained within the TPLF, which appointed many deputy prime ministers who held real power. People in Ethiopia, tired after half a century of oppression, began to act when they saw that the regime had weakened with Meles’ death. Oromo, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, took the lead in the popular protests that spread to all regions of Ethiopia, with the exception of Tigray.
The bloody and deadly street protest led to the resignation of Mr Dessalegn. In 2018 with the help of the popular protests, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power and the TPLF lost control of the state apparatus.
Mr Abiy’s government declared peace with all guerrilla groups based in arch-enemy Eritrea, including the Afar guerrilla ARDUF. He ended a long-standing territorial dispute with Eritrea, earning him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.
In the spring of 2021, the TPLF leadership decided to leave all government assignments in the new government and move to Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray Regional National State, to prepare for action plan to weaken the already fragile government. TPLF concentrated its efforts on developing its own region, and enriching itself by seizing state assets and money. The Ethiopian National Army was actually a Tigrayan army. They transferred weapons, tanks and other military equipment from military bases around country to depots in Tigray. Even the traditional home of the Ethiopian air force Bishoftu/Debre Zeyt was completely emptied of its arsenals. Therefore, the TPLF knew that the new Ethiopian army would not be able to resist if a war breaks out.
In November 2020, forces belonging to the Tigray National Regional State attacked a military post belonging to the Ethiopian central government. Mr Abiy said TPLF “crossed the red line” and started military operation against them. In early 2021 the central government occupied most of the cities in Tegray including the capital Mekelle and replaced the regional government with a group loyal to the central government.
After a few months, the Ethiopian Defence Forces decided to leave Tigray region. As a result, TPLF, which had been transformed into a guerrilla movement, took over the entire Tigray. TPLF decided to go from defensive to offensive.
Unprovoked attack on the Afar people
In July 2021, when the Ethiopian army declared a unilateral ceasefire and left Tigray, the TPLF attacked the retreating army. On July 4, TPLF annexed Yallo, the first Afar village bordering Tigray. They advanced and conquered several villages in the Afar Regional State. They burned houses and mosques; they emptied food depots and hospitals in several cities, which led to many people fleeing and being referred to as internally displaced persons. Many of these refugees settled in the village of Gaali Kooma, which was also attacked by the TPLF. Hundreds of children, women and the elderly fell victim to their artillery and were killed, as well as their Livestock.
When this massacre became known locally and internationally, the Afar National Regional State government began mobilizing its special force, guerrillas and militias to defend its territory. In its attempt to take control of the strategic village of Mille, the TPLF deployed tens of thousands of ground soldiers, supported by cannons, tanks and mines. When they failed to penetrate the Afar defence, they retreated.
After a defeat in Afar villages, the TPLF changed strategy and decided to occupy Wallo, part of the Amhara region, which borders the Afar region. They attack the village of Shifra so that they can advance towards strategic city of Mille. However, they were defeated. Subsequently, several new fronts were opened with the goal of reaching Mille, but they met great resistance from the Ethiopian defence forces in cooperation with the Afar forces. In a final attempt, they opened new fronts in another part of the
Afar area bordering the Oromia zone within the Amhara region, but all attempts led to losses. In all the villages previously occupied by the TPLF, wide spread incident of loot, murder, torture has been reported.
The lasting peace and development for all Horn of Africa region
The TPLF has failed to regain power by force. The central government has, at least temporarily, averted the threat thanks to Afar’s brave resistance. All peace-loving Ethiopian leaders from all regional states must now gather for a reconciliation meeting where the future of Ethiopia is decided, with the help of the UN, but without the influence of foreign stakeholders who have been involved in providing both sides with weapons during the war. The Afar National Regional State must be given a major role in these all-inclusive national dialogue as it is the most affected region and there is an imminent risk that the TPLF will persist on claiming part of the Afar region.
It is important that the Afars, as a strong minority, are given a significant role because they are a bridge to a just and lasting peace in Ethiopia. If there is a lasting peace and all ethnic groups in the country get the respect they deserve, if each regional state works to improve the living conditions of its citizens, then this country will flourish, which in turn will have positive effects in this otherwise hard hit region in the north-eastern
part of the African continent.
The better future for the Afar people in Ethiopia will be achieved through a lasting ceasefire and with an inclusive intra-Ethiopian dialog, at same time for Afar regional state to form the political structure they require to meet the challenges of economic development, health, education, and social services.
Last but not least, we have a hope of a future where we see the united horn of Africa, and where the natural resources of the countries are extracted to build the prosperity of every citizen and not for the benefit of few in leadership positions.
Hamad Y. Issa, EC member of the Swedish-Afar humanitarian organization the Afar Friends in Sweden