Tigray Defense Forces
{{short description|Nationalist armed group in Ethiopia}}
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{{Multiple issues|{{Tone|date=November 2021}}
{{Self-published|date=February 2022}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox national military
| name = Tigray Defense Forces
| native_name = {{lang|ti|ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ትግራይ|italic=no}}
{{lang|ti|ሰራዊት ትግራይ|italic=no}}
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| motto = {{lang|ti|ዘይንድይቦ ጎቦ|italic=no}}
There are no mountains we would not climb{{CN|date=January 2023}}
| founded = {{Start date and age|2020|11|04|df=yes}}{{Cite web|url=https://facebook.com/150790505635078/posts/683740195673437|title=Tigray Communication Affairs Bureau Press Release on Facebook, Central Command Spokesperson Getachew Reda |website=Facebook |date=14 November 2020}}{{Self-published source|date=February 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://facebook.com/150790505635078/posts/687806438600146|title=Tigray Communication Affairs Bureau Press Release on Facebook, Tigray Defense Forces spokesperson Gebre Gebretsadkan|website=Facebook|date=19 November 2020}}{{Self-published source|date=February 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://youtube.com/watch/odsibApcNcg|title=Central Command Spokesperson Getachew Reda Interview With Dimtsi Weyane Television|website=YouTube|date=14 November 2020}}
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| headquarters = Mekelle, Tigray Region
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| commander-in-chief = Debretsion Gebremichael
| commander-in-chief_title = President
| chief minister = Lieutenant Gen Tadesse Werede Tesfay
| chief minister_title = Commander-in-chief
| minister = Lieutenant General Tsadkan Gebretensae
| minister_title = Member of central command
| chief_of_staff = Colonel Gebre Gebretsadik
| chief_of_staff_title = Spokesperson
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| active = 250,000–270,000{{cite web |title=EPO Monthly Update {{!}} February 2024 – Clashes in Tigray’s Disputed Territories Threaten Peace Deal |url=https://epo.acleddata.com/2024/03/19/epo-monthly-update-february-2024-clashes-in-tigrays-disputed-territories-threaten-peace-deal/ |date= 19 March 2024 |access-date=23 March 2025}}
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| history = Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present)
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The Tigray Defense Forces (TDF; {{langx|ti|ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ትግራይ|italic=no}}), colloquially called the Tigray Army ({{lang|ti|ሰራዊት ትግራይ|italic=no}}), is a paramilitary group located in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. It was founded by former generals of the Ethiopian Military in 2020 to combat federal forces enforcing national government mandates in the Tigray region, culminating in 2020 with the outbreak of the Tigray War.{{cite news |date=4 April 2021 |title=Ethiopia is fighting 'difficult and tiresome' guerrilla war in Tigray, says PM |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/04/ethiopias-pm-says-military-fighting-difficult-and-tiresome-guerilla-war |access-date=22 August 2021 |quote=}} The TDF has made use of guerilla tactics and strategies.{{cite web |last1=Plaut |first1=Martin |date=8 January 2021 |title=Eritrea in the Tigray war: What we know and why it might backfire |url=https://africanarguments.org/2021/01/eritrea-in-the-tigray-war-what-we-know-and-why-it-might-backfire/ |access-date=22 August 2021 |website=African Arguments |publisher=The Royal African Society |quote=}}{{Cite web |title=Tigray Defense Forces Resist Ethiopian Army Offensive as Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethnic Militias Enter the Fray |url=https://jamestown.org/program/tigray-defense-forces-resist-ethiopian-army-offensive-as-sudan-eritrea-and-ethnic-militias-enter-the-fray/ |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=Jamestown |language=en-US}} Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported that the TDF has committed war crimes against civilians including gang rape and extrajudicial killing during their occupation of both the Afar and Amhara regions.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-09 |title=Ethiopia: Survivors of TPLF attack in Amhara describe gang rape, looting and physical assaults |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/11/ethiopia-survivors-of-tplf-attack-in-amhara-describe-gang-rape-looting-and-physical-assaults/ |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=Amnesty International |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2021-12-09 |title=Ethiopia: Tigray Forces Summarily Execute Civilians |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/12/10/ethiopia-tigray-forces-summarily-execute-civilians |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en}} According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice, TDF combatants have been found liable for upwards of 540 civilians casualties. as of 28 December 2021{{Needs update|date=January 2023|reason=It has been over a year since this was said.}}.{{Cite news |title=In Ethiopia war, new abuse charges put focus on Tigrayan former rulers |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/ethiopia-conflict-tplf/ |access-date=2022-05-04}}
File:Location of Tigray Defense Forces.png (light green), as of 13 October 2022 {{Needs update|date=January 2023|reason=Needs post-war update.}}]]
Overview
The Tigray Defense Forces consist of former members of the gendarmerie Regional Special Forces in the Tigray Region, ENDF defectors,{{cite news |last1=Fick |first1=Maggie |date=10 November 2020 |title=Battle-hardy Tigray back in spotlight as Ethiopia conflict flares |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ethiopia-conflict-tigray-idUSL8N2HV76C |access-date=3 May 2021 |quote=}}{{cite news |last1=Walsh |first1=Declan |date=7 April 2021 |title=Why Is Ethiopia at War With Itself? |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/world/africa/ethiopia-tigray-conflict-explained.html |access-date=3 May 2021 |quote=}} local militia, members of Tigrayan regional political parties including the TPLF, National Congress of Great Tigray, Salsay Weyane Tigray, Tigray Independence Party and others,{{Cite web |last=Izzo |first=Salvatore |title=Guerre civile au Tigré, la situation sur le terrain (Fulvio Beltrami) {{!}} Place St Pierre |date=19 April 2021 |url=http://placestpierre.fr/guerre-civile-au-tigray-la-situation-sur-le-terrain-fulvio-beltrami/ |access-date=2023-01-21 |language=it-IT}} as well as numerous youth who fled to the mountains{{Clarify|reason=What? Define "numerous"? Are these nationalist youth? Are they child soldiers? This needs to be clarified.|date=January 2023}}.{{Cite web |last=Lefort |first=René |date=2021-04-27 |title=Ethiopia's vicious deadlock |url=https://www.ethiopia-insight.com/2021/04/27/ethiopias-vicious-deadlock/ |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=Ethiopia Insight |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2021-05-23 |title=Éthiopie: comment les forces rebelles du Tigré organisent la résistance |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20210523-%C3%A9thiopie-comment-les-forces-rebelles-du-tigr%C3%A9-organisent-la-r%C3%A9sistance |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=RFI |language=fr}}{{cite web |date=2 April 2021 |title=Ethiopia's Tigray War: A Deadly, Dangerous Stalemate |url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/ethiopia/b171-ethiopias-tigray-war-deadly-dangerous-stalemate |access-date=22 August 2021 |website=Crisis Group |publisher=The International Crisis Group |quote=}}{{cite web | last1 = de Waal | first1 =Alex |author1-link =Alex de Waal | last2= Gebrehiwot Berhe | first2= Mulugeta |author2-link = Mulugeta Gebrehiwot |title= Transcript – Call between Mulugeta Gebrehiwot and Alex de Waal 27 January 2021 | website= World Peace Foundation |date = 2021-01-27 | url = https://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/files/2021/01/Mulugeta-Call-27-Jan-Full-transcript1-1.pdf | access-date = 2021-05-28 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210129211458/https://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/files/2021/01/Mulugeta-Call-27-Jan-Full-transcript1-1.pdf |archive-date= 2021-01-29 |url-status=live }}
{{Quote frame|quote=The Tigrayan leadership, though driven from power in Mekelle, the region's capital, has rallied under the banner of the Tigray Defence Forces, an armed resistance group. It is led by the removed Tigrayan leaders and commanded by former high-ranking Ethiopian National Defence Force officers.|author=International Crisis Group |title= Ethiopia's Tigray War: A Deadly, Dangerous Stalemate |source=}}
Internally, analysts believe that the relative influence of the TPLF has been weakened to the benefit of newer elements within the TDF.
= Leadership =
Many TDF officers and non-commissioned officers defected from the ENDF in the lead up to and during the Tigray War. In a Zoom meeting with Tigray diaspora activists{{Who|date=January 2023}} in June 2021, President of the Tigray region, Debretsion Gebremichael, stated that the TDF is led by a central command which coordinates their military actions.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}
Lieutenant General Tsadkan Gebretensae, who was the chief of staff of Ethiopian National Defense Forces until 2001, became the TDF commander in chief and remained in that post until March 2021,{{cite news |last1=Marks |first1=Simon |date=22 January 2021 |title=On 'Rooftop of Africa,' Ethiopia's Troops Hunt Fugitive Former Rulers |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/world/africa/ethiopia-tigray-conflict-abiy.html |access-date=3 May 2021 |quote=}} when he became a member of the Central Command.Tghat, 7 June 2021, [https://tghat.com/2021/06/07/general-tsadekan-gebretensae-exclusive-interview-with-dimtsi-weyane-tigray-broadcast-on-may-29-2021/ General Tsadekan Gebretensae Exclusive Interview With Dimtsi Weyane Tigray, Broadcast on May 29, 2021]{{Cite news |date=2021-07-01 |title=Gen Tsadkan Gebretensae: Ethiopia's Tigray rebel mastermind |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57583208 |access-date=2023-01-21}}
Lieutenant General Tadesse Werede Tesfay is part of the command and Commander-in-Chief of the TDF since March 2021.
Brigadier General Migbey Haile is Commander of the Army.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023|reason=Youtube is not a reliable source.}}
=== Transition from regular to guerrilla force ===
"Before the outbreak of hostilities, the Tigray regional forces (forerunner of the TDF) functioned as a more traditional military force that was well-supplied and trained in the use of heavy weapons. However, the Ethiopian Army and the Ethiopian Air Force successfully targeted the TDF's heavy equipment during the first weeks of the war. However, much of this equipment was abandoned by the TDF before it was targeted. The TPLF leadership knew that such equipment would be useless for the kind of war that they would have to wage."
= Recruitment and strategy =
According to the Jamestown Foundation; "Young men and women—many of whom fear being raped or murdered—are fleeing to areas under the nominal control of the TDF. The TDF is also accused of carrying out attacks on Amhara civilians."
Members of Tigrayan civil society have also joined the TDF, including Professor Kindeya Gebrehiwot, previous president of Mekelle University; Desta Gebremedhin, previous journalist of BBC World, numerous popular musicians{{Who|date=January 2023}}, and Professor Mulugeta Gebrehiwot, a peace researcher.
The TDF has been accused of forced recruitment, including the usage of child soldiers. According to Tigrayan administrative officials, each household in Tigray was required to enlist one member in the TDF, and those who refused detained and jailed, including the parents of children who refused enlistment.{{Cite news |last1=Paravicini |first1=Giulia |last2=Houreld |first2=Katharine |date=2022-05-16 |title=Some Ethiopians claim forced recruitment by Tigrayan forces |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/some-ethiopians-claim-forced-recruitment-by-tigrayan-forces-2022-05-16/ |access-date=2022-05-18}}{{Cite news |title=ህወሓት ለመዝመት ፍቃደኛ ያልሆኑ ልጆች ወላጆችን እያሰረ መሆኑ ተነገረ |language=am |work=BBC News አማርኛ |url=https://www.bbc.com/amharic/news-61316845 |access-date=2022-05-10}} As well as forced recruitment and enlistment quotas, the Jamestown Foundation has said, "The Ethiopian government's scorched earth strategy in Tigray has all but ensured the alienation of most Tigrayans. It has also ensured that the TDF will have no shortage of committed fighters and sympathetic supporters within Tigray." and that, "After the ENDF and soldiers from the Eritrean Army took over Tigray’s major towns, TDF forces retreated to strongholds in the mountainous central interior of the region. There, the TDF consolidated forces and re-organized for a transition to guerrilla-style combat... Following what was a strategic retreat to the rugged interior, TDF forces re-organized into small, highly-mobile, lightly armed, detachments of ten to eighty fighters. These detachments were then further divided into mission-specific units."
War crimes
{{Main|War crimes in the Tigray War}}
The TDF have been implicated in numerous war crimes in Afar and Amhara Regions to include the extrajudicial killings of civilians, indiscriminate shelling and shooting, rape as a weapon of war, use of civilians as human shields, and widespread looting and destruction of civilian infrastructure and private property.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-09 |title=Ethiopia: Survivors of TPLF attack in Amhara describe gang rape, looting and physical assaults |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/11/ethiopia-survivors-of-tplf-attack-in-amhara-describe-gang-rape-looting-and-physical-assaults/ |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=Amnesty International |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2021-09-09 |title=Tigray forces killed 120 civilians in village in Amhara - Ethiopia officials |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tigray-forces-killed-120-civilians-amhara-village-ethiopia-officials-2021-09-08/ |access-date=2022-05-10}}{{Cite web |title=Ethiopia calls on civilians to join army to fight Tigray forces |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/10/ethiopia-calls-on-civilians-to-join-army-to-fight-tigray-rebels |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2021-09-10 |title=At scene of Ethiopia's new killings, some fight, some flee |url=https://apnews.com/article/africa-only-on-ap-ethiopia-e3383c654382a901bd746f32b671396a |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2021-12-09 |title=Ethiopia: Tigray Forces Summarily Execute Civilians |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/12/10/ethiopia-tigray-forces-summarily-execute-civilians |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-03-11 |title=Afar and Amhara Regions: Report on Violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in Afar and Amhara Regions of Ethiopia Published |url=https://ehrc.org/afar-and-amhara-regions-report-on-violations-of-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law-in-afar-and-amhara-regions-of-ethiopia-published/ |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=Ethiopian Human Rights Commission - EHRC |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=2022-02-16 |title=Ethiopia: Tigrayan forces murder, rape and pillage in attacks on civilians in Amhara towns |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/ethiopia-tigrayan-forces-murder-rape-and-pillage-in-attacks-on-civilians-in-amhara-towns/ |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=Amnesty International |language=en}}{{Excessive citations inline|reason=Information as contentious as "did this side commit war crimes" does need very reliable citations, but this is unnecessary and should be shaved down.|date=January 2023}}
Multiple international news organizations{{Which|date=January 2023}} reported that the TDF has razed a village near Kobbo, North Wollo{{Where|date=January 2023|talk=Are these properly anglicized names? Do they have independent articles?}} These reports show satellite imagery of the village before and after being burned.{{cite news |last1=Zelalem |first1=Zecharias |date=17 August 2021 |title='They are out for revenge': Evidence of war crimes as rebels roar out of Ethiopia's Tigray region |newspaper=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/08/17/revenge-evidence-war-crimes-rebels-roar-ethiopias-tigray-region/}}
References
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{{Military of Africa}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tigray Defence Forces}}
Category:2020 establishments in Ethiopia
Category:2020 establishments in Tigray