ADDIS ABABA (Sputnik) - A spokesperson for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has said that the group, categorized as a terrorist organization in Ethiopia, was directed by the U.S. to seize power. Publicly, Washington has maintained a position of neutrality on the conflict.
“China’s intention is clear so I understand it. Whereas, the intention of the Americans is for us to enter Addis,” TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda told Tigray TV’s Dimsti Woyane , according to a translation from Tigrinya by the Ethiopian outlet Borkena.
“Some European countries also have similar interest. But they told us to forge an alliance with different groups to avoid chaos when our forces take control of Addis,” he added.
“America’s concern is ridiculous and transactional. It looks like the Americans couldn’t make up their mind about us capturing Addis Ababa. There are interest groups who want Abiy to continue putting the country up for sale, and who do not want him to stop selling the country’s indispensable resources recklessly”, he said.
The TPLF ruled Ethiopia for 27 years, during which time it constructed a federal system to control the country’s dozens of other ethnicities and moved most of its military and industries into the northern Tigray state. During that time, Ethiopia cooperated closely with the U.S. War on Terror and the newly formed U.S. Africa Command, providing facilities and troops that were key to advancing U.S. interests on the continent, such as the 2006 invasion of Somalia that overthrew the Islamic Courts Union government. They also waged a devastating war against Eritrea, which had recently won independence from Ethiopia, that cost more than 120,000 lives.