“Why is Ethiopia at war?” – Interview

On 4 November 2020 the Ethiopian government’s federal army led an assault on a group of militias in the Tigray province after numerous, apparently unprovoked, attacks on the official army. A year later the war seems to be escalating, with politicians and diplomats scrambling to stop what could become yet another civil war.

• What is the role of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, in all of this?
• Why does Eritrea seem to be fuelling the flames after Ahmed has done so much to stop the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea?
• Is this a repeat of 1974, when the people of Tigray led a revolt on Addis Ababa to overthrow the aging Emperor Haile Selassie?

 

 

Caroline Kurtz grew up in Ethiopia.
• She was a schoolgirl in Addis Ababa when Mengistu Neway led his failed coup against the government of Emperor Haile Selassie.
• In 1974 she was in Addis Ababa when Mengistu Haile Mariam successfully led a coup on Haile Selassie.
• Then, in 1991, when the guerrilla coalition from Tigray marched into Addis Ababa to overthrow Mengistu Haile Mariam, Caroline was also there.