Ethiopia Edges Toward Civil War As Federal Government Orders Attack On Tigray Region
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said forces of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which controls Ethiopia's north, had attacked a federal military base, requiring a counter-attack.
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The Tigray People's Liberation Front, the state government of the province of Tigray within Ethiopia, apparently launched an attack on a military base in their region, prompting a strong military response and deployment to the area from the Federal Ethiopian government. Back in 2018 the TPLF was removed from power in a popular uprising that dismantled their ruling coalition but they've commanded the State government of Tigray ever since. They've been a refuge for former regime officials and in September held an election of their own which was considered "unconstitutional" by the new federal Ethiopian government. The Tigray region is comparatively more wealthy and influential in Ethiopian politics, having had a strong influence ever since they were the main force behind the removal of Ethiopia's previous Marxist government in the early 90's.
It's feared that this conflict could destabilize an already unstable region in the Horn of Africa. Despite its own issues, Ethiopia has been far more stable then its neighbors in the region which include nations such as Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan and Kenya and while the Ethiopian government deals with issues in the Tigray region, its feared that Somali/Islamist insurrection in Ethiopia's Ogaden region could spark and rise.