Ethiopia – Tigray Conflict

In News

• The first formal African Union-led peace talks between an Ethiopian government team and Tigray forces are happening in South Africa.

Important Events of Tigray Conflict

• 1975: 
  • The ‘Derg’, a Soviet-backed Marxist military dictatorship led by Mengistu Haile Mariam was established in Ethiopia
  • The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was formed as a small ethno-nationalist paramilitary group and a political outfit 
• 1991: Derg was ousted.
• 1988: Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) was founded and ruled for nearly three decades.
• 2020: 
  • The Ethiopian government began military operations in the Tigray region against the region’s ruling party, the TPLF.
  • Civilian structures in towns in Tigray, including hospitals, schools, factories, and businesses, were shelled, looted and destroyed by Ethiopian federal forces and by Eritrean armed forces.

Image Courtesy: theowp.org

About Ethiopia

• The second most populous country in Africa
• Situated in the strategic Horn of Africa region. 
• It is bordered by Eritrea, Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia, and Kenya. 
• Different Ethnic Groups:
  • Divided into 10 regions based on the concentration of ethnic groups. 
  • The Oromo– the largest ethnic group in the country, 
  • Amhara– the second largest group
  • The Tigrayans– an ethnic minority (constitute around 6-7 percent)

Source: TH