Ethiopian Army Chief Alleges Foreign Support for Tigray Rebels
What happened
Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, the Chief of General Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Force, has accused Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt of providing support to rebel forces in the Tigray region.
The army chief specifically alleged that Eritrea is providing financial backing to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
The accusations follow reports that rebel troops have captured several strategic towns in northern Ethiopia amid renewed fighting.
Why it matters
The accusations made by the Ethiopian army chief have drawn denials from the named countries, highlighting the risk of a widening regional conflict.
Context
The Tigray region was previously the site of a major conflict between 2020 and 2022, which involved both Ethiopian and Eritrean military forces.
A cessation of hostilities agreement was signed in Pretoria in November 2022 to end the war, though the TPLF and its supporters have historically characterized the actions of the participating forces as genocide.
Birhanu Jula has served as the Chief of General Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Force since November 4, 2020.
Sources 3 sources
This briefing cites 1 publisher across 1 detected independent reporting stream. Some cited articles appear to be syndicated or near-duplicate coverage, so they are not counted as separate corroboration.
- Tdtnews Ethiopia’s army chief accuses Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting Tigray rebels Detected as syndicated or near-duplicate coverage.
- Wikipedia Birhanu Jula Background reference · Wikipedia text used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Awate From center to periphery : Eritrea forced disengagement from Ethiopia – Awate . com