Tigray crisis: Why Ethiopia is spiralling out of control

2020-11-16 17:03:19

Ethiopia appears to be fast approaching civil war. Fighting between forces loyal to the federal government headed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has claimed hundreds of lives and is threatening to rip the country apart. While battles rage on the ground, the two sides are also fighting a war of words. Each is trying to rally their people and also to convince the world that they have the moral high ground. The government in Addis Ababa and the TPLF accuse one another of starting the conflict. Mr Abiy has said that army officers were murdered in cold blood. The Tigrayan leader Debretsion Gebremichael says there was a co-ordinated attack by Ethiopian special forces and troops from neighbouring Eritrea. Until there is an independent investigation, the rival stories remain allegations without evidence, which are being used to whip up hostile sentiments.