The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has accused Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of supplying arms to the Ethiopian government. The rebels claim that weapons supplied to the Ethiopian military have been used to perpetuate the humanitarian crisis in Tigray and escalate the conflict.
In an open letter to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday, TPLF chairman Debretsion Gebremichael that the three Middle Eastern powers were party to the conflict by supplying weapons to the Ethiopian government, including drones.
Gebremichael called on Guterres to advise the three powers to “cease supplying weapons to the federal government of Ethiopia.” He noted that these weapons “are used to attack civilians and civilian targets in total violation of international humanitarian law and their use is escalating war and further destabilising Ethiopia.”
“Their readiness to provide arms to belligerents and to intervene in a partisan manner to internal political issues including armed conflicts has proven profoundly destabilising,” he continued in his letter.
However, despite his claims, there has been no report of any drone use during the conflict. According to reports, the Ethiopian government has launched airstrikes in Tigray and also shelled TPLF positions in Afar and Amhara.
Gebremichael’s made the accusations at a time when the rebels continue to suffer major territorial losses, in a sudden reversal of fortunes in the yearlong war. On Monday, the Ethiopian government claimed that its forces had recaptured the strategic towns of Dessie and Kombolcha in Amhara, months after Ethiopian soldiers were driven out by the TPLF.
Last week, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared “victory” over the TPLF from the frontlines of the conflict as the Ethiopian military recaptured several key rebel-held towns in Afar and Amhara, including the United Nations World Heritage Site of Lalibela.
In November, Abiy announced that he would be joining Ethiopian forces to defeat the TPLF once and for all. He had said that it was his duty as PM to lead the country’s defence forces from the front and also urged citizens to join the fight and “rise up for their country.”
Since the PM’s announcement, Addis Ababa appears to have won a string of victories over the TPLF. The Tigrayan rebels appeared to have the upper hand in the conflict until recently. In fact, they seized control of several towns in the Afar and Amhara regions from the Ethiopian military since June and captured thousands of Ethiopian soldiers in Tigray. The Ethiopian government was also facing the possibility of an imminent TPLF invasion of Addis Ababa, which spelled the end of Abiy’s government.
According to reports, Ethiopia has been trying to woo Middle Eastern powers towards its cause, especially as Addis Ababa and Washington have frequently clashed over the Ethiopian government’s human rights abuses in Tigray. In August, Abiy met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara to enlist Turkey’s support for Ethiopia against the TPLF.
Abiy’s forces and the TPLF have been fighting a deadly civil war for over a year. The conflict in Tigray has killed thousands and displaced over two million, and has witnessed grave human rights violations, including mass killings, rapes, and deliberate starvation.