By the Queen of Sheba
On November 3, 2020, the indomitable and battle-hardened Ethiopian National Defence Force-Northern Command went to bed following a festive day under the treasonous gaze of the Tigray special forces and militia. These Tigray forces were callously waiting to commit a treasonous act of biblical proportion on that fateful night.
On this night, these forces viciously attacked the Command in highly coordinated and cowardly manner both from inside and outside the camp while the army was asleep in their underwear-barehanded. Based on a secretly documented list on the identity of officers and high-ranking commanders they mercilessly and systematically massacred the Command as they ambushed them. Those who refused to abandon the National Force were instantly murdered in a vicious and barbaric way.
Even soldiers were not spared either. According to first-hand account, both men-and women-were savagely slaughtered by slicing their throats. After these heinous and gruesome acts, they went about rubbishing bodies, dancing over them and then burning some, leaving the rest to scavengers-and hyenas to feast on.
Oh, yes, in their mini act of mercy, they forced those they captured to undress and remove their shoes and driving them out-where they were reportedly clothed and fed by Eritrean forces-the very force they were deployed to counter.
After the unprecedented and dazing attack of the Northern Command-considered the largest, highly equipped and trained national force-the spokespersons of the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), who controls the special forces and the militias, bombastically asserted that they are now in full control of the Northern Command with all its massive military might while admitting the annihilation of some of its elements. They even declared that they were now “equally if not more” equipped militarily and logistically to repulse any attempt by the National Defence Force literally committing a coup d’etat.
While TPLF first managed to confuse the world by insisting that they acted in self-defence, they later went about boasting that they attacked the army with a thunderous pace only comparable to the Israeli pre-emptive attack during its war with the Arabs. They bluffed that the borders-both air and ground-were closed and anyone who dared violating it will be buried in the grounds of Tigray. And more.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose endless patience towards the TPLF had been paining many, was left with no option but to direct the armed forces to immediately repulse the daring attack in the interest of the rule of law-and saving the country from total disintegration. The heavily wounded army, which felt massively betrayed by its comrades, got quickly re-organized and re-fitted to repulse the cowardly assault changing the dynamics of the war in a lightening speed capturing major towns and cities, destroying and dismantling forcibly and surreptitiously amassed and hidden arms and depots and taking thousands and thousands of militia and special force members as prisoners.
The sheer bravado of invincibility of the TPLF which has been projected-and replayed and reminded to all real and potential adversaries-in a national celebration every year on Ginbot 20 (May 28, when they marched on Addis Ababa) instantly evaporated as the National Defence Force routed them in an humiliating blitzkrieg. The TPLF hurled a few misguided rockets to major cities of Gondar and Bahir Dar as well as Asmara, to internationalize the conflict, in vain.
At the time of this writing Mekele, the regional capital of Tigray, where the treasonous cabal of TPLF are holed up, is facing the fury and rage of the wounded and betrayed but, highly-spirited, army from four corners with the end results too obvious to contemplate.
My-Kadra: The Blood Bath
As is often the case the first victims of violence are typically women, children and the aged. But the fleeing and marauding militia and special forces turned against all human beings-specially men-killing victims, in all sorts of barbaric manner: strangulation, slitting throats, using machetes, axes, knives-and then dumping bodies and burning them. At least 600 victims have been confirmed by Ethiopian and international human rights institutions, but the recent discoveries of multiple bodies strewn along streets and fields indicate the number may escalate to thousands.
The massacre of My-Kadra came at the heels of defeat of the Tigrean cabal on the western flank as they were fleeing the advancing National force. The victims who were systematically identified were virtually all Amharas whose land was forcibly seized by the cabal when it took power some 30 years ago-annihilating and displacing the Amhara community there ever since.
In an unprecedented fate of international migration, those fleeing to the neighboring Sudan were not the typical women and children, but young and energetic men-most of whom members of the militia and special forces who committed the heinous crime. Reports indicate now that these vanquished forces, masquerading as fleeing civilians, continue to commit similar crimes in refugee camps in Sudan.
The Global Media
We live in an era of fake news exacerbated by the proliferation of media sources and platforms. No wonder the real story of this conflict was deliberately and irresponsibly manipulated by paid operatives and shenanigans of the TPLF. Personalities hiding under the guise of scholarship and journalism pontificated and manipulated facts and exaggerated scenarios to rescue the TPLF.
They first inflated the invincibility of TPLF forces, after its pre-emptive attack and amassing arms of the Northern Command. Later on, when they were beaten badly, they created a narrative around human catastrophe in the interest of throwing a life line to TPLF.
The so called Crisis Group Africa analyst such as William Davidson, a university-based academic Alex de Waal and other armchair analysts who featured on multiple media and major platforms have pushed the limits of credibility of their person and their institutions. To be sure, this war has exposed a multitude of open and concealed TPLF operatives at regional and international level.
What is however truly regrettable is how major media outlets, such as the BBC Amharic and English, Aljazeera English, DW (Germany), have been manipulated to misinform and misrepresent facts and scenarios. Even some of the most prominent fora such as the Brookings Institute and Foreign Policy entertained wrong and one-sided news and views. Just a couple of days ago a mis-statement reported by BBC mis-quoting the Prime Minister had to be taken down after some 4 hours-only after it was already widely circulated by TPLF and its operatives.
The significance of this biased reporting is far reaching in its denial of facts, fabrication of falsehood and one-sided narrative favorable to TPLF. The credibility of these institutions has been eroded so much so that the often-suspect government media have now become a source of more trustworthy information.
The Last Supper: The Irreversible Outcome?
War is never a good deed. But it becomes inevitable when imposed on one for the sake of its very survival. During the Second World War, the victorious Allied forces had to confront Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito for their own very survival who later crafted the chapters for global security and avoid such conflict in the future.
At the end of this conflict, a number of positive developments are anticipated which could not have been possible had it not been for the preemptive attack and the counter response.
The invincibility and dominance of the TPLF-which loomed large in Ethiopia and beyond- will be shattered and buried once and for all. Its overbearing presence in the army, intelligence, business, finance and economy would be cut to size.
All other tentacles of its making and funding would also be liquidated in due course unless they simply surrender or melt away. This creates a huge opportunity for a free, open and democratic national dialogue-and life-with as little challenge as possible.
The rightful return of lands that were forcibly and shamelessly seized by TPLF following its rule in 1991 would be resolved once and for all now that the owners have fought and regained it.