Local media sources from the northern Ethiopian province of Gondar say 20 people have died, including eight officers, in the ongoing border dispute between Tigray and Amhara regions. The violence began when the federal government, taking the side of Tigray, decided to arrest Amhara elders and committee members of the” Welkait-Tegede” towns awarded to Tigray, but claimed by the Gondar people of Amhara. Armed locals defended the committee members and shot at least two federal officers. About a dozen civilians and armed locals have since been killed by police.
Over a thousand armed Amhara peasants from around Gondar have allegedly joined the protesters who have burned state and federal buildings and vehicles, including the Tigray affiliated popular Selam Bus company.
According to Diaspora based Oromo activist Jawar Mohammed, the United Nations has “restricted all UN travel to Gondar city until further notice.”
Historically, the Welkait area used to be under the Gondar province before it was given to Tigray state in 1991 when the current EPRDF government came to power. Both Amharas and Tigrayans lived peacefully in Gondar province before, but after 1991, analysts say the ethnic-federalism system imposed ethnic ownership of lands that were settled by diverse people for millennia, which triggered the current dispute.
Ethiopian political analyst Teshome Borago said the federal government has sent hundreds of troops to stop the recent protests. Mr. Borago said this conflict at Amhara-Tigray border as well as the Konso border clashes and the Oromia-Addisababa border disputes prove that the ethnic-federalism system is destabilizing the country.
“Every big and small tribe and subtribe will now want to rule their own piece of land, whose borders was never demarcated before,” warned Mr. Borago.
“The Amhara is the easiest of all tribes to gain entrance into. Any Ethiopian can become Amhara overnight using language. So There are many mixed and former Tigray officials posing as Amhara to control the Amhara state government,” Mr Borago said. “The people know this scheme so they are taking matters into their own hands,” he added.
Unconfirmed reports say there is some negotiations and peace talks happening between Gondar citizens and the regional government since Wednesday.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said thousands of Ethiopian Jews are stuck in Gondar but they are safe inside a “secure and guarded building.”
Mr. Somali, it is a poor journalism. before you vomit your nonsense, first to make little research how the country regions are demarcated and check if there is any kind of relevance between the old province and the current regions.
let me tell you one thing the old province has no relation the current regions. was there called Somali region ? no,it was only “haregeie” according to your bla bla the hareri people can claim JIGJGA. this how you write your nonsense. the “Gondor” province never been Amara only. there was Amara, Tigray and Benshangul therefore the province is divided in two three of them according to their identity. this is not new the “shewa” province is also divided among the five states Amara, Oromo, SNNP, Afar and Addis Ababa. not only this the “Tigray” province is also divided between Amara, Afar and Tigray states because it was only occupied by Tigray. therefore, before you jump the issue that you don’t know I advice you to read and cross check facts. Good Day !
Abr,
You must be spy for the regime. Watchout your time is almost over! Ethiopians will kicku out soon
Ethiopia is a fake country and a mess. The sad thing is millions of innocent people are suffering while their regimes vacation abroad.
I think it is a good report. Although there are some inaccuracy as the journalist may not be familar with the geography inside Ethiopia. Before TPLF introduced the Ethinic division and administrative regions, the country was divided into 14 adminstrative regions based on the geographical location, not based on ethnicity. It was a system where any Ethiopians can live and work wherever he or she wants. When TPLF come to power, they know that they can only control the country for long time if they divide the country and the people on tribal basis so that the people will not unit to ask their individual rights and the government can expolit the country with impunity. TPLF being in charge of the country, they took big chanks of land from Amahara people. These are fertile land with high potential for tourists and agriculture. The majority of the people living in these areas ara Amahara. The Tigayan with the TPLF help dominated the economy and sometime they evicted local people to develop and establish business owned by Tigrain individual or TPLF affliated compamies. Thanks to the departure of Meles, the TPLF although dominant even today, they are becoming more undesciplined and the members of TPLF and Tigrayans are provoking other Ethnicity when they try to take adavantage and push the other Ethiopians. More than 80 % of the people are either Amhara and Oromo. on the contrary most ministrial positions are given to Tigrayans and also higher military positions are also given to this ethnic group. Even if the prime- minster is a highly educated person and more comptent than Meles, there are 4 deputy prime- minsters who control everything behind him. There are also individuals called special advisors whose instructions will be implemented by the prime- minister. Unfortunately when these deputy priminsters and special advisors have more infleunce than the prime-minster, there is direction and there is no accoutability. So anyone who is a member of TPLF in Oromia or Amahara region will grabe any business or land and provoke public anger. Unless the TPLF become desciplined they can not carry on business as usual. If they do not respect one-another, who will respect them. If the Prime-minister does not have authority in his position, who will have authority in his capacity as local adminsterator. The boundary was artifial to divide the people. The big land of th South Gojam is given to Benishagon because the Tigaryan can go claim the land. A huge fertile land was sold to Indian company.
I could not agree more with what Abreham said! It is true.
No, u r wrong. The current prime minister is not educated at all. He has only stomach no mind to think with. Common, if he has ability to think meles wouldn’t give him that position. He doesn’t even say anything of his own, he uses the same word meles was using. He is complete dushbag and kersam, otherwise why he joins such a party from respected job president of university”
Very true! In Oromia, many Tigray people learn Oromo language and join OPDO too. we know who they are and they don’t represent us!
I think to curb ethnic-related bloodshed in Ethiopia, the country should be divided into three based on ethnicity and regions:
1. Somali and Dire Dawa regions should combine to form a country of its own
2. Oromia, Southern Nations, Gambela, Beninshagul and Amhara regions should combine to form another country and
3. Afar and Tigray should combine to form the third country
Tigries are the smallest tribe yet they control power and all the resources in Ethiopia.
Jones,
Why should we let Somalis diredawa form new country? We have to be bigger so our plan is to take south Somalia up to baidoa into Ethiopia and make Ethiopia bigger. We can take Djibouti and north Kenya land to make Greater Ethiopia
I tell you the fact. We have already decided to rule this country for eternity. what you can do is to serve the current government. Everything is already calculated.Whatever people say, no one will come to power except we the Tigrians. Don’t put yourself into danger.
Hey Habtom, did Idi Amin rule Uganda forever? In no distant future we will jail all Tigrians who have stolen our money and put them into foreign account.
Hey Habtom Gebre I smell Eritrean in you. Go fix your own problem don’t try to divide us. You can join back your mother land it is ok to come back.
We are not giving love to our people, so it is impossible to be good sheepherd/leader. The only one who is annointed and have grace to rule the peoples of God without disbute has coming.
I am politically Tigre because my pops is tigre but my mom’s is gondere. At least that’s what society have taught me to be. The thing that has happened in gonder were a long time coming. And its true that some tplf affiliated tigreans are waving their d**ks everywhere these days. The sad thing is the position who are power mongers just like eprdf, wanted to make a scapegoat out of the tigrean people just to cover their weaknesses to topple the incumbent government. This method only backfired. creating a bleak future creating a country that will be difficult to rule United. even worse, The ethnic tigrean civilians are holding tight to tplf not because they are happy with it, rather because they are being hated and labeled as the enemy by most narrow minded people. Having no option to go , they choose to stay alive by supporting tplf. If some one wants to remove eprdf and maintain a United ethiopia then the key is to convince tigreans they are part of the future ethiopia. This will lead most important tigres to defect and dismantle tplf/eprdf. If not there will always be a protracted war.
Jones,
Why should we let Somalis diredawa form new country? We have to be bigger so our plan is to take south Somalia up to baidoa into Ethiopia and make Ethiopia bigger…..You perfectely enheritted it. that should be day day dream of ur deceased crime minister MZ. u should have inherited from him some better ideas rather than hatred and illutional ideas. he should have told the out for the centuries old poverty. he did because his small injera ocupied head could not figure out any solution for ur problems so should divert you microscopic brain from the fact. wait a minut do you the location of somali territory. i don’t think so because of what i know is that you Aidsopians are all low minded in education. iam affraid if you get gut to invade somalia you head to sudan direction for u have scored F in geography. in either cases you will be bitten back in humiliation and be forced to eat raw meat as your ancestors did. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF YOU ETHIOMULE
yeah go ahead conquer somalia because they deserve it for they have trusted you and invited you in to their soil. capture the land as just walk over because you already had them in your hand, enslave them and explioit their natural resource and any other opportunity plant you famous aids virus. they deserve it because they refused to continue their unity soverignity integrity. they forgot you as their greatest enemy in this planet and invited you to peace keep them.