​Ethiopian developments & threat against Addis Ababa

The United States has urged its unnecessary diplomats to leave Ethiopia immediately, with some US media outlets reporting the possible collapse of the capital Addis Ababa and potential bloodshed.

At the request of the Ethiopian government, the people of the capital are prepared to defend the city.

Ethiopia with a history of 8,500 years of civilization is a country that was never colonized. Only Italy occupied it from 1936 to 1941 and left Ethiopia after the defeat in World War II.

Ethiopia has a federal government of nine independent states, and the headquarters of the African Union and the United Nations High Commissioner for Economic Affairs in Africa are in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. This powerful country with a population of about 120 million ignored military threats, because it has been busy due to a dispute with Egypt and Sudan over the construction of the Ennahda Dam.

Lt. Col. Abi Ahmed, who was sent to Rwanda in 1995 as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force, has been instrumental in modernizing Ethiopia's security and intelligence services, and with training in the United States and Britain, has strengthened their cyber security. He set up the National Intelligence and Security Agency in 2008 and was its head until 2010. Then he entered the world of politics and became a member of parliament. He was also Minister of Science and Technology for a short time in 2015 and 2016.

Colonel Abi Ahmed became the Prime Minister of Ethiopia in 2018 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. He disbanded the ruling coalition based on ethnicities and marginalized the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which has ruled Ethiopia for more than three decades.

Disputes between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the prime minister erupted when the election promised by Abi Ahmed in March 2020 was not held under the pretext of the outbreak of the coronavirus, and his rule continued with the Senate vote. For this reason, his opponents do not legitimize the continuation of his rule.

TPLF Leader Debarsion Jabr Mikael is the biggest opposition to the current prime minister. After studying in Italy, he started the "Voice of the Revolution Radio" for the Tigray People's Liberation Front, and after the overthrow of the Marxist regime in Ethiopia in 1991, he was elected Minister in the government, but that government only ruled Ethiopia until 2018. He was handcuffed and then pushed to the sidelines by Colonel Abi Ahmed.

Last year, Abi Ahmed used army ground and air forces, artillery and drones to temporarily suppress the insurgency in the Tigray region, but the Tigray People's Liberation Front also used heavy weapons, including the Chinese-made DF-12 ballistic missile. With a range of about 300 km, which he probably received from Eritrea, he showed that he had the necessary support.

In the new round of clashes, a new coalition of nine groups has been formed to overthrow Abi Ahmed's government, known as the "United Front of the Federal Forces and the Ethiopian Confederation," and has stated that their sole goal is to dissolve Abi Ahmed's government.

The commander of the Oromo Liberation Army said that his forces had reached 40 kilometers from Addis Ababa and were preparing for the final attack.

On the other hand, Ahmed's blue government has denied any advance by insurgents or any threat to Adisa Baba, but has declared a state of emergency and called on the people to take up arms to defend the capital.

The US government on Saturday ordered its unnecessary diplomats to leave Ethiopia.

On Sunday, tens of thousands of residents of the capital gathered in support of the government in the famous "Moskel" square and pledged to fight the insurgents. Some protesters chanted slogans condemning the US government for not condemning the insurgents and merely calling for a ceasefire.

It seems that if the Freedom Front's fighters advance south and the Djibouti road is closed, which is the main source of logistical support for Addis Baba, Ahmed's blue government will face serious problems.

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