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“Our societies are integrated. We have been living together for a very long time. You can’t separate us, not by religion, not by language. Most of the people who live in these regions are Orthodox Christian, so we share the same religion as them”, said Anmut Mulat, a local administrator.
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| Fighters in Tigray are battle-hardened from the 1999-2000 war with neighbouring Eritrea and a guerrilla struggle to topple communist rule [File: Eduardo Soteras/AFP] |
Residents of the Amhara region in northern Ethiopia bordering Tigray say they are “ready” to support Ethiopian forces in their conflict with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
One of them explains that the ethnic groups that make up the north of the country “cannot be separated, neither by religion nor by language”.
“Our societies are integrated. We have been living together for a very long time. You can’t separate us, not by religion, not by language. Most of the people who live in these regions are Orthodox Christian, so we share the same religion as them”, said Anmut Mulat, a local administrator.
Ethiopia’s national army has used bases in the Amhara region to attack sites in Tigray. On Sunday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed replaced his army chief, suggesting that the country was preparing for a longer campaign in Tigray.
Abiy also named Temesgen Tiruneh, who was president of the Amhara region, as the new intelligence chief.
In recent days, military and verbal escalations have been accelerating between the central government, which accuses Tigray of attacking a base of their army.
Addis Ababa accuses the state of rebellion.
