Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), the former rebel group which has been on power in Ethiopia till April 2018, is said has attacked federal government military base in Tigray in an attempt to rob artilleries, the federal government said.
The attack occurred this morning, according to the press statement from the Prime Minister Office of Ethiopia. “In the early hours of November 4, 2020, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked the Ethiopian National Defense Forces Base located in Tigray region and attempted to rob the northern command of artillery and military equipment. The Northern command has been stationed in the Tigray region for more than two decades in service and protection of the people of Tigray from any threats,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in his televised statement has urged the public to be cautions about suspected activities that could be executed by the evil collaborators of TPLF. In the neighboring Amhara region Dansha area, the TPLF has also opened fire, according to the President of Amhara Region Temesgen Tiruneh, who also stated that the TPLF has been producing military uniform of Eritrean Army to blame the Eritrean government and tell the people of Tigray that they are invaded by Eritrean Army.
It is to be recalled that in the past few weeks the TPLF has been arming and organizing irregular militias outside of the constitutionally mandated structure. The attack on the Northern Command has been premised on TPLF viewing the Ethiopian National Defense Forces as a foreign army rather than an army that has been protecting the people of Tigray for more than twenty years. Resultantly, TPLF has chosen to wage war in Dalshah.
Over the past months of continued provocation and incitement for violence by TPLF, the Federal Government has maintained a policy of extreme patience and caution in order to avoid any harm that such provocations would cause the people of Tigray. In addition to Federal government provocation, the TPLF through Almeda Plc – a textiles manufacturing company based in the region – have been manufacturing military outfits resembling that of the Eritrean National Defense Forces, to implicate the Eritrean government in false claims of aggression against the people of Tigray.
While the Federal government has used all means to thwart a military engagement against the TPLF, a war however cannot be prevented only on the goodwill and decision of one side, but on the mutual choice for peace by both parties. The last red line has been crossed with this morning’s attacks and the Federal government is therefore forced into a military confrontation.
The Ethiopian National Defense Forces, under the direction of a Command Post, have been ordered to carry out their mission to save the country and the region from spiraling into instability. The Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, calls upon the Ethiopian people to remain calm, to be vigilant in the face of possible harassment, and to stand by our National Defense Forces in this critical time.