“We support the decision of the Federal Government to carry out operations against (the) TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front)” Mustafe said.
The regional government he leads reportedly raised militias to be deployed at the border between the Afar region and Tigray.
The Somali Liyu police are currently fighting alongside Amhara regional forces against Tigrayan forces.
“The fact that the Amhara special forces are one of the units at the front fighting Tigray tells us many things!
This is a signal of state-led and state-facilitated civil war!” tweeted Henok G. Gabisa, an International Human Rights expert.
In 2019, the Somali Democratic Party, a satellite party, joined the Prosperity Party formed by Abiy Ahmed, and modelled on the now-defunct EPRDF.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has issued a position statement on the civil war in Ethiopia.
“ONLF is gravely concerned about the … outbreak of war in and around Tigray. The nations of Ethiopia have had their share of wars and natural disasters, and were expecting a period of reprieve and recuperation. Consensus and dialogue are the only way forward for all to reach a win-win solution” reads the statement.
“We oppose the decision of President Mustafe to portray Somalis in Ethiopia as supporters of the war against Tigray. We are against any state violence against citizens. The Liyu Police has not grown out of being an instrument of oppression for Addis Ababa” said a civil society member in Jigjiga who spoke to our Puntland Post correspondent on condition of anonymity.
This article first appeared in the © Puntland Post, 2020 and is republished with permission