The elected government of Tigray has officially been reinstated. The TPLF old guard has once again started governing the people of Tigray after being forced to retreat into the mountains after being dealt a heavy blow in November of last year.
For nearly eight months, the Tigray people had to endure hardships and retribution imposed on them by the invading forces of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and regional Amhara forces. Although nearly half of Tigray's land is still occupied by the Amhara regional militias and liyu police, Tigrayans worldwide are elated by the reinstatement of the TPLF.
After a remarkable military showing in operation Alula, both the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies – both considered formidable armies, with the former being one of the best militaries in Africa – had to withdraw from Tigray.
Arat-kilo insisted the ENDF's withdrawal was 'strategical,' especially with foreign threats just over the horizon. "We have nothing left to do in Tigray," "Mekelle is no more than Abiy Adi or Beshasha," the PM extolled to hundreds of journalists. Elsewhere in the capital, a top military general and deputy foreign minister Redwan Husain spoke to assure the public, "if needed, our soldiers could retake Mekelle within a week.", "our withdrawal was simply believed to be advantageous." The minister told reporters.
However much Arat-kilo tries to control the narrative, the truth remains, the ENDF was defeated. A defeat so absolute, some are reporting the ENDF barely made it out of Tigray with all of its units intact. Dedebit media reported that a battalion was left behind in the town of Wukro, just 45 kilometers from Mekelle. And it's contested if the units that withdrew from Mekelle made it to the neighboring Afar region unscathed.
With the Ethiopian and Eritrean militaries on the run, TDF marched to the capital, with the people cheering and applauding the fighters. Amidst the news of Mekelle's capture, I immediately called my relatives there. They spoke of jubilant scenes in the city; everyone was on the streets of Mekelle welcoming TDF fighters. Later that day, June 28th, the TDF took full control of Mekelle city.
Now the TDF has gone straight to work. The elected government of Tigray will look to solve the most pressing issues in Tigray – averting the looming large-scale famine. USAID is estimating about one million people are suffering from starvation. Most of those suffering from the lack of food are children and Tigrayans in the most rural parts of the province.
International organizations are calling for a de-escalation so that life-saving aid can get to the people in famine-stricken areas. But this appears to be a difficult task after electricity, water supply, and connection to the entire region were cut off since late last week (Mekelle was disconnected from the world since Tuesday). The ENDF went further than just disconnecting the whole province by dismantling necessary VSAT equipment in UNOCHA offices, severely hindering their ability to move urgently needed aid that can prevent morbidity associated with malnutrition, including 33,000 children.
The entire Tigray region is blockaded by hostile neighbors who colluded against the small province. Much of western Tigray is still under occupation of the Amara militias responsible for abhorrent human rights violations and the displacement of more than one million Tigrayans from west Tigray, acts described as 'ethnic cleansing' by US secretary of state Anthony Blinken. While the Eritreans may have withdrawn from major cities and towns, it's difficult to verify and confirm their complete withdrawal. Both forces are responsible for the curtailment of humanitarian assistance and most human rights violations in Tigray.
President of the regional state of Tigray has warned against more fighting if all invading don't pull out from Tigray, echoing Getachew Reda's recent vow: "Until every inch of Tigray is free."
If that is the case, the unilateral cease-fire declaration by the federal government is futile in its purpose because the main reason for the ENDF pullout was to 'stop the active war in Tigray since last year and to allow humanitarian assistance scale-up.'
President Debretsion G/Michael told Tigrayans in Mekelle, "They [ENDF and EDF] are reconstituting their depleted armies. Our victory isn't total, we have achieved a miraculous victory, one that will be part of our remarkable history, but we shall continue fighting until justice is served." Justice, of course, for the crimes committed against the innocent civilians of Tigray.
"All Tigrayans must understand, they [invading Eritrean and Ethiopian armies] didn't withdraw willingly; they were all defeated. And now they are preparing for the next wave of invasions. We will never let that happen. We shall never give them a chance." "Tigrayans will never be massacred, punished, and tortured again."
"We [Tigrayans] don't seek to humiliate others. All that we desire is to live peacefully, to prosper and build our democracy."
"The Amhara and the Eritreans are not our enemies. Indeed there are elements within both that won't let us live peacefully." "If not with Diplomacy, then with guns, we shall fight those elements. "It was a powerful speech by the president of Tigray. He unambiguously told the world that the war is far from over.
With the challenges mounting for the elected Tigrayan government, the world is following closely. Reluctance from the UN Security Council, mainly on Russia, China, and the A3, to take action to save lives in Tigray is evident after Friday's open meeting. Unless the world takes a strong stance on Tigray, which is looking more unlikely, the situation will worsen within a few weeks, leaving the TDF as the people's only savior. In this final stretch, they are now to create a corridor for vital aid to get to the starving people.
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