Ethiopian military chief brands faction of TPLF a “criminal clique,” calls for its removal     

ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopian army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula accused the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) of great betrayal, arguing that a small clique from the group should be eliminated for Ethiopia to survive.

While commemorating five years since the outbreak of the Tigray war, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) chief said the people of Tigray should liberate themselves from what he described as the TPLF’s “criminal clique.”

“The people of Tigray must liberate themselves. The TPLF clique should not decide the fate of the people of Tigray,” he said, calling on youths and mothers to “reject” the leadership.

The 2020 war in northern Ethiopia was triggered by the “attack” against ENDF’s “Northern Command”, and it was “one of the darkest moments in Ethiopian history.”

“Today we have gathered here for the annual Memorial Day for the martyrs of the Northern Command,” Birhanu said. “We will never forget so that it will not be repeated.”

Describing the war as “unparalleled in Ethiopian history”, the Field Marshal said the attack was “a filthy and black chapter in Ethiopia.” He claimed the event stood apart because it was perpetrated not by an external enemy but by “our own citizens.”

“For the first time in Ethiopian history, perhaps in world history,” he said, “their own citizens ambushed, encircled, crushed, forced their own Defense Forces to walk naked, ran vehicles over them, abused those who survived, paraded them, and broadcast it on media” repeating the overly used yet uncorroborated trope used during the war to mobilize a popular support for the war, Addis Standard reports.

He described 4 November 2020, the night of the assault, as one of the darkest days of his military career. “If you ask me, ‘when was the day you were most shocked? When was the day you were saddened? It is October 24 [Ethiopian calendar equivalent]. There is no day I have been more shocked, saddened, or bowed my head,” Birhanu said.

The Field Marshal said it was therefore “harrowing” that the same community turned against the army that had protected and served it. “It is very damaging when your own kin become cruel to you,” he said. “…it is heartbreaking.”

Turning his attention to the TPLF leadership, Birhanu accused part of the party’s leadership of “masterminding the attack.”

“The Northern Command was their glory and majesty,” he said. “To suddenly do this and betray the Ethiopian people is a historical scar. To go from your Arat Kilo gate to Mekelle, plot a conspiracy, incite ethnic hatred, dissolve the army, and destroy the Northern Command is a great betrayal.”

The Tigray region remains fluid, given internal disagreements that threaten to breach the Pretoria Peace Accord, with factions breaking apart the once-intact TPLF administration. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called for unity and cooperation.

While it's unlikely that TPLF will respond to the latest scathing attack from the army chief, internal wrangles risk dismantling the regional northern administration, with ENDF Northern Command asserting its preparedness.

GAROWE ONLINE