Ethiopian army chief rejects dismantling of force
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Fanamc
Ethiopian army Chief of Staff Berhanu Jula said the armed forces would not be dismantled to allow a transitional government to be established through armed struggle. At the 119th Defence Forces Day, he described defending the country’s sovereignty and unity as the army’s central mission, according to Fanamc.
Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) Chief of Staff Field Marshal Berhanu Jula rejected dismantling the army to establish a transitional government through armed struggle. He made the remarks on Saturday 24 October, during the commemoration of the 119th Defence Forces Day, at army headquarters, according to the Ethiopian public press (FMC).
Berhanu Jula said groups seeking a transitional government should pursue power through political and peaceful means. He presented defending the country’s sovereignty and unity as the army’s central mission and warned that dismantling it would, in his view, threaten the Ethiopian state.
The chief of staff also said that the TPLF, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, had launched an offensive on fronts in the Amhara and Afar regions. According to him, the army repelled the attack and seized weapons transported via the port of Massawa. He attributed the offensive to coordination involving actors located between Egypt, Khartoum and Asmara, without providing independent evidence supporting the accusation.
The statements came after the TPLF leader said on 22 October that his troops were still fighting in Tigray, in northern Ethiopia. The two statements reflect persistent tensions surrounding the conflict and the movement’s future TPLF.
