In News
- The first formal African Union-led peace talks between an Ethiopian government team and Tigray forces are happening in South Africa.
Important Events of Tigray Conflict
- 1975:
- The ‘Derg’, a Soviet-backed Marxist military dictatorship led by Mengistu Haile Mariam was established in Ethiopia
- The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was formed as a small ethno-nationalist paramilitary group and a political outfit
- 1991: Derg was ousted.
- 1988: Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) was founded and ruled for nearly three decades.
- 2020:
- The Ethiopian government began military operations in the Tigray region against the region’s ruling party, the TPLF.
- Civilian structures in towns in Tigray, including hospitals, schools, factories, and businesses, were shelled, looted and destroyed by Ethiopian federal forces and by Eritrean armed forces.
Image Courtesy: theowp.org
About Ethiopia
- The second most populous country in Africa
- Situated in the strategic Horn of Africa region.
- It is bordered by Eritrea, Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia, and Kenya.
- Different Ethnic Groups:
- Divided into 10 regions based on the concentration of ethnic groups.
- The Oromo– the largest ethnic group in the country,
- Amhara– the second largest group
- The Tigrayans– an ethnic minority (constitute around 6-7 percent)
Source: TH
