Ethiopian army chief

Ethiopian Army Chief, Berhanu Jula, warned external forces against destabilizing eastern part of the country. He was addressing the 47th founding ceremony of the Ethiopian Military’s Eastern Command.

The Eastern Part of Ethiopia shares border with Somalia. Ethiopian Somali region, which borders Somalia, is the hub of Ethiopian military activities these days. The military movements intensified after Egyptian troops and military armaments arrived in neighboring Somalia last week.

Egypt is set to deploy thousands of commandos and various weapons to support Somalia’s forces in the ongoing confrontation between Ethiopia and Somalia over a controversial MoU signed by Ethiopia with Somaliland earlier this year.

General Jula, addressed a large military gathering in the Somali region on Thursday. The gathering was organized to commemorate the founding of ENDF’s eastern command. He warned external forces against making eastern zone a battlefield, saying that the Ethiopian military was ready and fully capable of countering these threats.

Mustafa Omar, Ethiopian Somali region president, in his speech, said that the forces which want to destabilize Ethiopia will be humiliated and defeated like Siad Barree’s forces were defeated in 1977. Former President of Somalia Siad Barre led Somalia’s forces and Ethiopian military were involved in a deadly war in 1977.

Ethiopia is highly alarmed at the entry of Egyptian military into Somalia. Ethiopian troops, part of peacekeeping operations in Somalia, are going to be kicked out of Somalia. Egypt and Ethiopia have been locked into a dispute over Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for years. Growing Egypt-Somalia closeness have resulted in increased military activities by Ethiopian military on Ethiopia-Somalia border.

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