The Tigray Conflict In Ethiopia

Written by Ash

TW: Mass killing, reference to genocide, violence, rape and abuse.

What is happening in Ethiopia?

• The Tigrayan people of Ethiopia are engaged in an ongoing civil war with the Ethiopian government, which has plunged millions of Tigrayans into a humanitarian crisis.

• The Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) have been fighting the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) since Nov. 3, 2020 with the involvement of the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF). All sides, particularly the ENDF, EDF, and TDF have committed war crimes during the conflict.

Timeline: How did it unfold?

• To distance the country from ethnic federalism and ethnic nationalist politics, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed merged the ethnic and region-based constituent parties of the EPRDF coalition and several opposition parties in 2019 into his new Prosperity Party. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) refused to join the new party.

• On 3rd November 2020, Tigrayan security forces attacked the ENDF Northern Command bases and headquarters in the Tigray Region. The ENDF counterattacked in Tigray.

Economic and Humanitarian Crises

• Due to the onset of the war, a deep humanitarian crisis has developed.

  • An estimated 9.4 million people need urgent help, especially food, but the government-imposed blockade of Tigray has made it difficult to provide relief aid.

  • Thousands of Tigrayans have been driven out of their homes.

• Mass killings of civilians took place during November and December 2020 in and around several refugee camps. and war rape became a "daily" occurrence, with girls as young as 8, and women as old as 72, raped, often in front of their families.

• More than 5,400 unaccompanied and separated children were registered by the UN since the start of 2021, many of whom have no adult caregivers and are at risk of neglect and sexual and physical abuse.

Ways You Can Help

• The Tigray crisis calls for urgent aid in assisting the common people who have been affected in overcoming the humanitarian crisis.

• If you wish to help, you can donate through the following:

  • https://www.savethechildren.org/us/where-we-work/ethiopia

  • https://www.gofundme.com/f/5sqth-humanitarian-crisis-in-ethiopia

  • https://www.unicef.org/appeals/ethiopia

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigray_War#:~:text=Fighting%20between%20Tigray%20forces%20and,as%20%22law%20enforcement%20operations%22.

• https://www.nytimes.com/article/ethiopia-tigray-conflict-explained.html