Ethiopia's army chief accuses Eritrea of leading Tigray offensive with Egyptian support, says up to 800,000 young people fled Tigray to avoid forced recruitment
Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, chief of staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Force, accused neighbouring Eritrea on Saturday, November 14, of coordinating attacks with armed groups against federal military positions in Ethiopia's north, alleging that Egypt is also providing military assistance. He said the offensive was led by Eritrea, with logistical support and military supplies provided by Egypt, and that its objective was to unite forces to overthrow Ethiopia's government.
Birhanu named the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the Amhara-based Fano militia, the Oromo Liberation Front, Egypt and Sudan as parties allegedly involved in a proposed alliance. He said federal troops had stopped the latest attacks on positions in the Amhara and Afar regions, describing them as a fourth round of assaults, and that the attacking forces' commanders had fled to towns inside Eritrea.
In remarks in Mekelle on November 13, his first meeting with residents of the Tigrayan capital since fighting resumed in September, Birhanu also said as many as 800,000 young people had left Tigray for other parts of Ethiopia, including Addis Ababa, Adama and Dire Dawa, to avoid being forcibly recruited into the fighting.
The claims have not been independently verified. Eritrea and Egypt did not immediately respond. Egypt has repeatedly denied involvement in Ethiopia's internal conflict, and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said in October that Cairo had no role in the fighting.
Source: Ethiopian National Defense Force
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：提格雷地区首府 Mekelle 在2022年战争中被毁的建筑（资料图）。来源：Mulugeta Atsbeha，Wikimedia Commons，公共领域。 / Photo: A building destroyed in the 2022 war in Mekelle, capital of Tigray (file photo). Source: Mulugeta Atsbeha, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
