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Tigray Defense Forces

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The Tigray Defense Forces (TDF; Tigrinya: ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ትግራይ), colloquially called the Tigray Army (ሰራዊት ትግራይ), is a paramilitary group located in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. It was founded by former generals of the Ethiopian Military in 2020 to combat federal forces enforcing national government mandates in the Tigray region, culminating in 2020 with the outbreak of the Tigray War.[7] The TDF has made use of guerilla tactics and strategies.[8][9] Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported that the TDF has committed war crimes against civilians including gang rape and extrajudicial killing during their occupation of both the Afar and Amhara regions.[10][11] According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice, TDF combatants have been found liable for upwards of 540 civilians casualties. as of 28 December 2021[needs update].[12]

Tigray Defense Forces
ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ትግራይ
ሰራዊት ትግራይ
Mottoዘይንድይቦ ጎቦ
There are no mountains we would not climb[citation needed]
Founded4 November 2020; 3 years ago (2020-11-04)[1][2][3]
HeadquartersMekelle, Tigray Region
Leadership
PresidentDebretsion Gebremichael
Commander-in-chiefLieutenant Gen Tadesse Werede Tesfay
Member of central commandLieutenant General Tsadkan Gebretensae
SpokespersonColonel Gebre Gebretsadik
Personnel
Active personnel<10,000[4][5]–250,000[6] (est. Nov. 2020)
Related articles
HistoryTigray War
Territory controlled by the Tigray Defense Forces (dark green), inside of the Tigray Region (light green), as of 13 October 2022 [needs update]

Overview

The Tigray Defense Forces consist of former members of the gendarmerie Regional Special Forces in the Tigray Region, ENDF defectors,[6][13] local militia, members of Tigrayan regional political parties including the TPLF, National Congress of Great Tigray, Salsay Weyane Tigray, Tigray Independence Party and others,[14] as well as numerous youth who fled to the mountains[clarification needed].[15][16][17][18]

The Tigrayan leadership, though driven from power in Mekelle, the region's capital, has rallied under the banner of the Tigray Defence Forces, an armed resistance group. It is led by the removed Tigrayan leaders and commanded by former high-ranking Ethiopian National Defence Force officers.
— International Crisis Group, Ethiopia's Tigray War: A Deadly, Dangerous Stalemate, [17]

Internally, analysts believe that the relative influence of the TPLF has been weakened to the benefit of newer elements within the TDF.[17][18]

Leadership

Many TDF officers and non-commissioned officers defected from the ENDF in the lead up to and during the Tigray War.[9] In a Zoom meeting with Tigray diaspora activists[who?] in June 2021, President of the Tigray region, Debretsion Gebremichael, stated that the TDF is led by a central command which coordinates their military actions.[citation needed]

Lieutenant General Tsadkan Gebretensae, who was the chief of staff of Ethiopian National Defense Forces until 2001, became the TDF commander in chief and remained in that post until March 2021,[17][19] when he became a member of the Central Command.[4][20]

Lieutenant General Tadesse Werede Tesfay is part of the command[17][9] and Commander-in-Chief of the TDF since March 2021.

Brigadier General Migbey Haile is Commander of the Army.[citation needed]

Brigadier General Abraha Tesfay is Commander of Army.[21]

Transition from regular to guerrilla force

"Before the outbreak of hostilities, the Tigray regional forces (forerunner of the TDF) functioned as a more traditional military force that was well-supplied and trained in the use of heavy weapons. However, the Ethiopian Army and the Ethiopian Air Force successfully targeted the TDF's heavy equipment during the first weeks of the war. However, much of this equipment was abandoned by the TDF before it was targeted. The TPLF leadership knew that such equipment would be useless for the kind of war that they would have to wage."[22]

Recruitment and strategy

According to the Jamestown Foundation; "Young men and women—many of whom fear being raped or murdered—are fleeing to areas under the nominal control of the TDF. The TDF is also accused of carrying out attacks on Amhara civilians."[9]

Members of Tigrayan civil society have also joined the TDF, including Professor Kindeya Gebrehiwot, previous president of Mekelle University; Desta Gebremedhin, previous journalist of BBC World, numerous popular musicians[who?], and Professor Mulugeta Gebrehiwot, a peace researcher.[18]

The TDF has been accused of forced recruitment, including the usage of child soldiers. According to Tigrayan administrative officials, each household in Tigray was required to enlist one member in the TDF, and those who refused detained and jailed, including the parents of children who refused enlistment.[23][24] As well as forced recruitment and enlistment quotas, the Jamestown Foundation has said, "The Ethiopian government's scorched earth strategy in Tigray has all but ensured the alienation of most Tigrayans. It has also ensured that the TDF will have no shortage of committed fighters and sympathetic supporters within Tigray." and that, "After the ENDF and soldiers from the Eritrean Army took over Tigray’s major towns, TDF forces retreated to strongholds in the mountainous central interior of the region. There, the TDF consolidated forces and re-organized for a transition to guerrilla-style combat... Following what was a strategic retreat to the rugged interior, TDF forces re-organized into small, highly-mobile, lightly armed, detachments of ten to eighty fighters. These detachments were then further divided into mission-specific units."[9]

War crimes

Main article: War crimes in the Tigray War

The TDF have been implicated in numerous war crimes in Afar and Amhara Regions to include the extrajudicial killings of civilians, indiscriminate shelling and shooting, rape as a weapon of war, use of civilians as human shields, and widespread looting and destruction of civilian infrastructure and private property.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][excessive citations]

Multiple international news organizations[which?] reported that the TDF has razed a village near Kobbo, North Wollo[where?] These reports show satellite imagery of the village before and after being burned.[32]

References

  1. ^ "Tigray Communication Affairs Bureau Press Release on Facebook, Central Command Spokesperson Getachew Reda". Facebook. 14 November 2020.[self-published source]
  2. ^ "Tigray Communication Affairs Bureau Press Release on Facebook, Tigray Defense Forces spokesperson Gebre Gebretsadkan". Facebook. 19 November 2020.[self-published source]
  3. ^ "Central Command Spokesperson Getachew Reda Interview With Dimtsi Weyane Television". YouTube. 14 November 2020.
  4. ^ a b Tghat, 7 June 2021, General Tsadekan Gebretensae Exclusive Interview With Dimtsi Weyane Tigray, Broadcast on May 29, 2021
  5. ^ Dimtsi Weyane, 18 June 2021, ምስ ኣዛዚ ሰራዊት ትግራይ ተጋዳላይ ታደሰ ወረደ (ወዲ ወረደ) ዝተገበረ ቃለ መሕትት[self-published source]
  6. ^ a b Fick, Maggie (10 November 2020). "Battle-hardy Tigray back in spotlight as Ethiopia conflict flares". Reuters. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Ethiopia is fighting 'difficult and tiresome' guerrilla war in Tigray, says PM". The Guardian. 4 April 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  8. ^ Plaut, Martin (8 January 2021). "Eritrea in the Tigray war: What we know and why it might backfire". African Arguments. The Royal African Society. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Tigray Defense Forces Resist Ethiopian Army Offensive as Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethnic Militias Enter the Fray". Jamestown. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Ethiopia: Survivors of TPLF attack in Amhara describe gang rape, looting and physical assaults". Amnesty International. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Ethiopia: Tigray Forces Summarily Execute Civilians". Human Rights Watch. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  12. ^ "In Ethiopia war, new abuse charges put focus on Tigrayan former rulers". Reuters. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  13. ^ Walsh, Declan (7 April 2021). "Why Is Ethiopia at War With Itself?". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  14. ^ Izzo, Salvatore (19 April 2021). "Guerre civile au Tigré, la situation sur le terrain (Fulvio Beltrami) | Place St Pierre" (in Italian). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  15. ^ Lefort, René (27 April 2021). "Ethiopia's vicious deadlock". Ethiopia Insight. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Éthiopie: comment les forces rebelles du Tigré organisent la résistance". RFI (in French). 23 May 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Ethiopia's Tigray War: A Deadly, Dangerous Stalemate". Crisis Group. The International Crisis Group. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  18. ^ a b c de Waal, Alex; Gebrehiwot Berhe, Mulugeta (27 January 2021). "Transcript – Call between Mulugeta Gebrehiwot and Alex de Waal 27 January 2021" (PDF). World Peace Foundation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  19. ^ Marks, Simon (22 January 2021). "On 'Rooftop of Africa,' Ethiopia's Troops Hunt Fugitive Former Rulers". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Gen Tsadkan Gebretensae: Ethiopia's Tigray rebel mastermind". BBC News. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  21. ^ Tesfaselam Informer: General Dinkul: The most famous general leading Tigraian Defence Forces speaks about the war in Tigray Archived 4 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine[self-published source]
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference jamestown2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Paravicini, Giulia; Houreld, Katharine (16 May 2022). "Some Ethiopians claim forced recruitment by Tigrayan forces". Reuters. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  24. ^ "ህወሓት ለመዝመት ፍቃደኛ ያልሆኑ ልጆች ወላጆችን እያሰረ መሆኑ ተነገረ". BBC News አማርኛ (in Amharic). Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Ethiopia: Survivors of TPLF attack in Amhara describe gang rape, looting and physical assaults". Amnesty International. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Tigray forces killed 120 civilians in village in Amhara - Ethiopia officials". Reuters. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  27. ^ "Ethiopia calls on civilians to join army to fight Tigray forces". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  28. ^ "At scene of Ethiopia's new killings, some fight, some flee". AP NEWS. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  29. ^ "Ethiopia: Tigray Forces Summarily Execute Civilians". Human Rights Watch. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  30. ^ "Afar and Amhara Regions: Report on Violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in Afar and Amhara Regions of Ethiopia Published". Ethiopian Human Rights Commission - EHRC. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  31. ^ "Ethiopia: Tigrayan forces murder, rape and pillage in attacks on civilians in Amhara towns". Amnesty International. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  32. ^ Zelalem, Zecharias (17 August 2021). "'They are out for revenge': Evidence of war crimes as rebels roar out of Ethiopia's Tigray region". The Telegraph.
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