In a dispatch from Ethiopia's front line, TomGardner18 speaks to an unlikely militant in Ethiopia’s bloody civil war
. Had Tigrayan forces captured Debark they would have massacred civilians, he had no doubt. “We can all imagine what would happen – it’s obvious,” he told me. “Retaliation.” He said he’d stop at nothing to prevent Debark falling. “I really do not want to see their faces anymore.”few weeks later the war heated up again. Solomon and I met between rounds of fighting. The tension was oppressive, hanging over the city of Gondar like a thick fog.
In Addis Ababa Tigrayans have been rounded up and slung into makeshift detention centres. Elsewhere they are even more vulnerable. Two weeks ago a Tigrayan university lecturer in the Amhara region was murdered by security forces. In Gondar there have been calls to intern into camps the few Tigrayans who still live there.supporters from innocent Tigrayans, who would be left untouched. But he added, his voice hardening, that for those with a “agenda” there would be no tolerance.
Feelings towards foreigners, particularly foreign journalists, have soured: officials routinely accuse them of backing the. As we ate lunch in a popular restaurant, Solomon and I were arrested. We were released after several hours, but only once the police chief recognised Solomon as a family friend.and its new ally, a rebel group called the Oromo Liberation Army, launch an assault on Addis Ababa. Solomon scoffs at the idea that theis fighting to enthrone itself again.
At the heart of Ethiopia’s crisis is a violent rupture in the social fabric: each side utterly mistrusts the other. And the situation is getting worse. Tigrayans say that the events of the past year amount to genocide: many are demanding independence. Some of their neighbours in Amhara might not mind. “Some people say they don’t care,” Solomon said. “Others say it’s unthinkable.
These are questions for the future. The last time I texted Solomon he sounded more resolute than ever. “Everyone is ready to go to the front line,” he said. “No choice.” This time he would do more than just support the troops. “I am ready to fight from now on.”