The approximately 250k uniformed TPLF army and militia that trained and displayed its weaponry in the streets and stadiums of Mekele last year discarded its uniform, buried its weapons , and blended with the Tigrean people with the advance of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces(ENDF), the Amhara militia and the Eritrean forces that captured Mekele in three weeks after the conflict began on November 4, 2020.
When the TPLF heads run to the woods, they were pursued by the ENDF, some arrested others killed. A significant number of the blended militia joined the exodus with the Tigrean peasants who took refuge across the border in Sudan. The TPLF army and militias stayed among the peasantry and in several towns, including Mekele.
The ENDF generals talked about heinous crimes committed by the TPLF soldiers who discarded their uniforms and blamed the acts on the ENDF.
After the conventional military conflict was over, chasing the remaining terrorists continued but the human and material cost became untenable in several towns and rural areas.
To avoid more killings of people on both sides from this conflict, the government of PM Abiy decided for a unilateral cease fire.
What next? For the Tigrean peasants, it’s the season to farm peacefully? Will the hidden TPLF militia in their midst allow them?…or has mobilization for continued conflict began.. The war drums by their survivor chief cadre escalates and western media dutifully echo them. What develops remains to be seen.
Will the aid promised by international organizations show up as promised or will they continue to remind us of our inadequacy?
(በቁስል አንጨት አንድምንልው)… That also remains to be seen too.