An overview of the Afar Issa conflict

 An overview of the Afar Issa conflict

#Dahilon_Yassin_Mohammoda, 20 August 2022 

 The_Afar primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia in addition to Eritrea and Djibouti where the Afar and Issa are the two major ethnic groups. The Issa, one of the many Somali clans (a subdivision of Dir clan family), primarily live in the Somali Region of Ethiopia mainly in Sitti zone and make up a large chunk of the chartered city of Dire Dawa. 

The Issa, further, live in Djibouti where they currently dominate the state power and inhabit Awdal region in Western Somaliland.The two groups who speak different languages have a lot in common.

As Markakis (2003) put it, the “Issa-Afar conflict is the most protracted and intractable violent communal conflict in the Horn of Africa ''. It is arguably the longest conflict in the region, and one of few well documented. Abundant material with records of incidents and sequence of events over a long period of time are available in the Ethiopian government archives in addition 

to a growing body of scholarly literature on the conflict. There are at least two PhD theses dedicated to the conflict - Yasin, M.Y (2010); Muauz Gidey (2018) and a significant number of academic articles on the subject. The arrival of the Italian colonial power to the region in mid 1930s, the emergence of Somali nationalism and its irredentists Greater Somalia Project upon independence in 1960, the independence of Djibouti in 1977, the Djibouti civil war (Afar & Issa), the Eritrean independence in 1993, lucrative illicit trade interests, and major changes within Ethiopia at different times, have all influenced the Afar-Issa conflict changing its scope and dynamics overtime. 

The long history of the Afar-Issa relationship can be traced back to the 14th century coastal town of Zeila and its surroundings (not always a conflict). Zeila, one of the oldest cities on the East African coast, is in today’s Somaliland and was the capital city of the early Ifat Sultanate during the 9th century and continued to be that of its successor the Sultanate of Adal (Al-Shami, 1997).

The more recent conflict between the two communities that changed the dynamics of 

confrontation started with the involvement of the Italian colonial power. In 1935, the Italian colonial force launched an invasion against Ethiopia from its bases in the Italian Somaliland. 

The Italians in their effort to rally the Afar and Somali support against the Ethiopian resistance tried to exploit religious and cultural differences as well as low land and high land dichotomy. 

They consequently managed to secure support of a significant number of Somalis including the Issa clan. The Afar, on the other hand, not only rejected the Italian proposition but also fought against them siding with the Ethiopian resistance force (Sylvia Pankhurst 1959:329). The Italians not only retaliated by unleashing a series of military campaigns, mass disarmament and economic suction but also armed and actively supported the Issa against the Afar.

Consequently, the Issa with Italian support of military training and modern weapons, found it an easy raid to advance deep into the Afar homeland with little resistance from the Afar crushed by the Italian punitive measures. They subsequently controlled villages such as Asbuli and Ayroli marching to Mero. As Markakis (2002:447) has noted, the Italian interference, in short, changed the balance of power in favor of one party to the conflict producing thereby winners and losers. 

The Italian interference, which was a turning point, further changed the nature, scope and objectives of the conflict transforming it into a new phase.

Following the end of the Italian invasion, the imperial government as part of its effort to address the conflict introduced new administrative structures. In 1944, a new Wereda incorporating part Afar and Issa with Afdem as its capital was established. The Issas were restricted from crossing Bulga, Aydora, Erer, Fa’o while the Afar restricted from crossing from Ayroli, Asbuli, Biya’ad, Merihan and Andido’ (Yasin 2010: 157). 

This did not deter further expansion of the Issa and the imperial government in 1970 placed the two groups under two different Awrajas with clearly defined borders. The Afar were incorporated in Adal and Garaguracha Awraja with a capital in Asebe-Teferi while the Issa was included in Dire Dawa, Issa and Gurgura Awraja with a capital in Dire Dawa. Neither restructuring of administrative units nor demarcation of boundaries were successful in slowing down the Issa offensive let alone mitigate the conflict.

The two groups during the Ethio-Somalia war of 1977-78 once again found themselves on the opposite sides of the conflict. The Afar stood on the Ethiopian side. The Issa echoed and acted upon the Somali’s open claim that the Awash River is the western border of lost territories.

The Derg, alarmed by the experience of the Somali war, initially tried to disarm the Issa with no success. Concerned with security of the main road linking Addis to Assab and Djibouti, the Derg later created and enforced a 20kms (from the main road) buffer zone separating the two groups.

After the arrival of TPLF dominated government in 1991, the Derg‘s buffer-zone was quickly breached allowing the Issa to set up settlements along the main road at the heart of Afar homeland namely in Adaytu, Undaffo, and Gedamaytu. As Yasin (2010:178-79) noted, the Issa breaching the buffer zone with a surprising speed took one giant leap which enabled them to step their foot on the main asphalt road. Reports on the Afar and Issa conflict since include no words such as Erer, Mero, Mullu, Afdem etc and rather focused on the hamlets along the road like Adaytu, Gedmaytu, and Unduffo.

According to Muauz (2010), “in effect, in the first five years after the downfall of the Dergue, the Issa controlled more territories than they had in thirty years.” An overview of the Issa historical expansion through a continuous eviction of the Afar from their homeland overtime (1936-2006) is better illustrated by Simone Rettberg ( May 2014 ) in the below mapThe newly born settlements flourished quickly, becoming important hubs of an illicit trade network protected by powerful regional and local backers, a force that have since become an important factor in the conflict. They rapidly become flashpoints of conflict between the new Issa inhabitants and the Afar from surrounding areas. The Issa in a few years’ time consolidated their position by populating the new settlements ensuring Afar are not welcome. The Afar, finding themselves cut off in three places within their territory, were forced to avoid travelling through these settlements. The EPRDF in 2014 imposed an agreement on the Somali and Afar Regional State leadership 

where the Afar ownership of the land was recognized and the three settlements occupied by Issa granted special Kebele status under the Afar Regional State, an offer rejected out of hand by both sides. 

The Issa would not settle for anything less than annexing the settlements to Sitti zone through referendum while the Afar opposed the idea they viewed as not only as a recognition of Afar territories taken by force which amounted to rewarding the aggressor but also as a dangerous precedence which encourages the Issa to invade more Afar land. The Afar, moreover, pushed for a clear demarcation of border between the two communities and its enforcement, a demand Afar repeatedly tabled since the imperial period and opposed repeatedly by the Issa side. 

Though important factors, the decades-long conflict is no more a conflict over scarce natural resources such as paster and water nor a border conflict as lately presented by some observers. Such clarification of the decades-long and dynamic conflict is simplification and misleading. The nature, scope, actors, and objectives of the conflict has changed over time transforming into a complex and multi-dimensional conflict. Whether there is adequate realization and understanding of such changes and dynamics remains a major question.

Djibouti’s role in the Afar-Issa conflict is an issue that comes up frequently. President Ismail Omar Guelleh who successfully exploited multiple crisis in the region to his advantage (collapse of Somali as state, Ethio-Eritrean war, terrorist threats including piracy in the area) deployed his new influence and power not only to consolidate his power base in Djibouti but also to aggressively enhance the Issa position in the region practically in the land locked and dependent Ethiopia. Djibouti’s ambition in Ethiopia includes a quest for the Issa Regional State through consolidation of the current Sitti zone in Somali Region and through expansion into Afar territory in Ethiopia. With a fresh memory of the early 1990s civil war between the Afar and Issa(both parts at the time actively mobilized their communities across the borders), Djibouti further aims at weakening the Afar base in Ethiopia by supporting the Issa side to secure continuation of domination of political power in Djibouti. In other words, the Afar-Issa conflict in Ethiopia remains interwoven with Djibouti’s internal politics. 

Consequently, Djibouti’s backing and interference in the Issa- Afar conflict in Ethiopia remained not a secret. Confiscated Djibouti regular military IDs on battlefields and captured military personnel including high ranking officers have become all too common. Retaliatory attacks on Afar civilians in Djibouti following setbacks across the border in Ethiopia has become yet another regular scene.

Ismail Guelleh, last year, surprised regional observers when he announced his intention of exploiting the waters of the Awash River, which flows for its entire length within Ethiopia, most of it through the Afar Region. Equally surprising was the Ethiopian government’s silence on the incident that prompted public outcry. Guelleh further managed to provoke again when he appeared on national TV with a background map highlighting details of Issa ambition/claim on the Afar territories in Ethiopia.

The Afar side accuses Djibouti of being the main sponsor of Issa aggression and expansion by facilitating material including weapons, financial and even deploying Djibouti’s military personnel. The Issa side, on the other hand, accuses the Ethiopian government of siding with Afar.

There were times when the Afar-Issa conflict was viewed as confrontation between two nomadic communities on the periphery that did not affect national security or interest. It has become clear during recent years that this is no more the case though such a view still prevails in some quarters.

Series of high-profile peace conferences have produced no tangible results and the eight and half decades old violent conflict continues to claim thousands of lives with no end in sight so far. Addressing the Afar-Issa conflict effectively requires a broader perspective, understanding its dynamics and a serious commitment to resolve it.

የከሸፈው የጠላት ስትራቴጅና ቀጣዩ ሴራ

 የከሸፈው የጠላት ስትራቴጅና ቀጣዩ ሴራ 

(የአፋር ስነልቦና ከአለት የጠነከረ ነው!) 

        

      (ረጅም ፅሁፍ) 

(  Muhammed A. Yassen )

ማሳሰቢያ: 

የዚህ ፅሁፍ ዋና አላማ ከሰሞኑ ክስተት ጋር ተያይዞ "አፋር በገዛ መሬቱ ራሱን እየተከላከለ ነው" ብዬ ድስኩር ለማቅረብ አይደለም። ሆን ብሎ ለመረዳት ያልፈለገና ፅንፍ የያዘ ካልሆነ በቀር ጉዳዩ ግልፅ ነውና።  ወይም ደግሞ የአፋር_ኢሳ (ሱማሌ) ጦርነት ታሪካዊ ዳራ ለማስገንዘብ አይደለም። ይልቁንም የአፋር ህዝብ ባለፉት አራት አመታት እያፈለበት የመጣው ፋተናና እየበጣጣሰ የመጣው የጠላት ስትራቴጂ ከሰሞኑ የአንዳፎዖ ክስተት ጋር አያይዤ ለማሳየት ነው። 

መቅደም: 

ባለፉት አራት አመታት የአፋርን ሰላም ለማናጋት ሌት ቀን የሚሰሩ ሁለት ኃይሎች መኖራቸው ለሁሉም ግልፅ ይመስለኛል። እነርሱም የታላቋ ሱማሌ ህልመኞችና የዓባይ የትግራይ አቀንቃኞች። ( በጅምላ መፈረጅ እንዳይሆንብን ሁለቱን ኃይሎች በኢሳ ተስፋፊ ኃይልና የወያኔ ኃይል ተብሎ ቢወከል የተሻለ ነው። ከሱማሌ ወንድሞቻችንና ከትግራይ ህዝብ ጋር እንደ ህዝብ ችግር የለብንምና።) ሁለቱም ኃይሎች የጋራ የሚያደርጋቸው ባህሪያቸው በ መሳሪያ ኃይል መተማመናቸውና ተስፋፊነታቸው ነው። የሚያገናኛቸው አላማ ደግሞ ለወደፊት ህልማቸው ለማሳካት እንደ ተግዳሮት የሚያዩት አፋርን ጠንካራ ሆና ማየት በመሆኑ አፋርን ማንበርከክ ወይም ማዳከም የሁል ጊዜ ሞኞታቸው ሙከራቸው ነው። ታዲያ "ባለፉት አራት አመታት" ያልነው ነባራዊ ሁኔታን ለማሳየት ያክል እንጅ ረጅም ታሪክ ያለው የቆየ ጉዳይ መሆኑን ከግምት እንድታስገቡ ይሁን።

(1) . መግቢያ: 

ወያኔ አፋርን በተመለከተ ሁለት ስትራቴጂ በመቀየስ ወደ ስራ የገባው ገና ከሸገር ወደ መቀለ በተመለሱበትበት ሰሞን ነበር። አንደኛው ስትራቴጂ: አዘናግቶ ማጥቃት ይባላል: የዚህ ስልት ዋና አላማ ከተቻለ ከአፋር በኩል ቁልፍ ሰዎችን በመደለል  አፋርን ከጎናቸው በማሰለፍ ከአጋሮች (ኢትዬጵያ: ብሔር ብሔርሰቦች) ጋር ማጋጨት ስሆን ካልሆነ ደግሞ አፋር ከማንም ጋር እንዳይወግን በማድረግ መጨረሻ ላይ መጠቅለል ነው።  ሁለተኛው ስትራቴጂያቸው ደግሞ ከአፋር ጋር ግጭት ውስጥ ያሉትን በአሊያንስ በመጠቀም አፋርን በጦርነት ማንበርከክና በጦርንበት በሚደረሰባቸው ኪሳራ ተስፋ እንድቆርጡ ማድረግ ነው። 

(2.1). የሁለቱ ስትራቴጂዎች አፈፃፀም

የመጀመሪያው ስትራቴጂያቸው የማስፈፀሚያ ስልታቸው የተሳሳተ ግንዛቤ ላይ ሰለቆመ ገና በጅምሩ ነበር የከሸፈባቸው። “ከአፋር በኩል የተወሰነ የጎሳ መሪዎችና ተሰሚነት ያላቸው ሰዎች በጥቅም በመደለል ከጎናችን ካሰለፍን የአፋር ህዝብ በራሱ ጊዜ  ከኛ ጎን ይሰለፋል” የሚል ከበፊት ጀምሮ ሰለ አፋር የያዙት የተሳሳተ ግንዛቤ ለይ በመንተራስ ያደረጉት ሙከራ ነው። የዚህ ስትራቴጂ ዋና አላማ አፋርን ከተቻለ ከጎን ማሰለፍ ካልተቻለ ቢያንስ ጦርነት ላይ እንዳይሳተፉ ማድረግ ስሆን ድል ስቀናቸው በስተመጨረሻ የአፋር መሬትና ሀብት ማዕከል ያደረገ ታላቋን ሀገረ መንግስት መመስረት ነበር። ሆኖም ግን እንደተሳሳቱ የገባቸው ዘገይቶ ነው። "ዓፋር ክወቅዐና?!" ብሎ ደብርፅዬን ቱግ ያለው ለዛ ነበር። 

የመጀመሪያው እንዳልሰራላቸው እርግጠኛ ስሆኑ ሁለተኛው ስትራቴጂያቸው ነው የነደፉት። እሱም ከቆላ ተንቤን መልስ መቀሌን ስቆጣጠሩ!! ስትራቴጂው shock Doctrine ይባላል። መተግበሪያ ስልታቸው የአፋር ጠላት ከሆነው  ከጅቡቲው ኢስማኤል ኡመር ጌሌ  ጋር ጥምረት በመፍጠር የኢሳ (ሱማሌ) ኃይልን በመጠቀም ከፊትና ከኋላ በተመሳሳይ ግዜ ውጊያ በመክፈት የአፋር ኃይልን አጣብቂኝ ውስጥ ማስገባት ነው። የዚህ ስትራቴጂ ዋና አላማ ከስር እንደተያያዘው " አፋር Extensional treat  እንድሰማው በማድረግ በኢትዬጵያ ላይ ተስፋ ቆርጦ የነፃነት ጥያቄ እንድያነሳና… የአፋር ትሪያንግል መመስረት ወደ ሚል ትግል እንድገባ ማድረግ ነው።" አፋርን ወደዚህ ተስፋ መቆረጥና የስነልቦና ውድቀት ማስገባት ከተቻለ የፈለጉትን ማሳካት እንደሚችሉ በመገምገም የነደፉት ስልት ነው።  ይህ ብቻ አይደለም። ይኼኛው ሰተራቴጂያቸው ብዙ ጥቅም እንደሚያስገኝላቸው በመተማመን ነው። በተለይ ከጅቡቲ መንግስት የሚፈልጉትን ነገር ማገኘት፣ ከሱማሌ ኃይሎች ጋር ታክቲካል አሊያንስ መፍጠር፣ የኢትዬ ጅቡቲን መሰመር በቀላሉ ለመያዝ፣ ወዘተ! 

የጅቡቲው እስማዔል ኡመር ጌሌ በበኩሉ የዶር አብይ አህመድ ወደ ስልጣን መምጣት ተከትሎ በቀጠናው የመጣው የአሰላለፍ ለውጥ ስጋት የፈጠረበት ገና አጀማመሩ ላይ ነበር። በመሆኑም የሪፐፕሊካን ጋርዱ መሪ በሆነው ጀ/ መሀመድ ጃማዕ አስተባባሪነት በአፋር–ኢሳ (ሱማሌ) ግጭት ቀጠና ላይ የስልጠናና የትጥቅ ድጋፍ በማድረግ የጦርነት ቅስቀሳ ጀመረ። ብዙም ሳይቆይ ኡንዳፎዖ ላይ የአፋር ባንድራ አውርዶ በማቃጠል "እኛ ሱማሌ እንጅ አፋር አይደለንም" በሚል መፈክር ጦርነት በይፋ እንድታወጅ አደርጎ ነበር። እዚህ ጋር መዘንጋት የሌለበት ነገር ቢኖር  የታላቋ ሱማሌ ህልመኞችን በማስተባበር፣ ፋይናንስ በማድረግና ስትራቴጂዎችን በመቀየስ እንደ ጎበዝ አለቃ ሆኖ የሚያገለግለው የድሬዳዋ ተወላጁና የጅቡቲው ፕሬዝደንት እስማኤል ኡመር ጌሌ መሆኑ ነው። ሰለሆነም የእቅዱ አፈፃፀም ውስጥ ከመቅዲሾ እስከ ጅግጅጋ ብዙ አካላትን ያሳትፋል። የጅቡቲው በየአመቱ "Heritage" በሚል ስም የሚካሄደው ስብሰባ፣ በሱማሌ ክልል "ኣይሻ ላይ በየአመቱ የሚከበረው በአል" የዚህ ፕሮጄክት አካል ተደርጎ የሚወሰዱ ናቸው። የሱማሌ  ክልሉ መስጠፌም የዚህ ህልም ተጠቂ መሆኑን ብዙ ማመሳከሪያ ማምጣት ይቻላል። በርግጥ በአማርኛ ስያወራ ብቻ ለሰማ ላይመስለው ይችላል። 

(3). የወያኔ ወረራ፣ የእስማኤል ጌሌ ሰርግና ምላሽ 

የወያኔ ኃይል በያሎ በኩል የመጀመሪያ ወረራ ስፈፅም በደስታ አቅሉን ከሳቱት ውስጥ በዋናነት የጅቡቲው እስማኤል ጌሌ ይጠቀሳል። የኢሳ (ሱማሌ) ኃይልን በማንቀሳቀስ በአምስት ግንባር ውጊያ እንድከፈት ለማድረግ ሳምንት አልፈጀበትም። በዚህ ብቻ አላበቃም። የወያኔ ኃይሎች ከውጭና ከውስጥ የሚያደርጉት ማንኛውም ግንኙት በማስተባበር ከሱዳን ቀጥሎ ሁለተኛ ደረጃ ይይዛል። ሚሌ የተቆጣጠሩ ስመስለው ወታደሮቹን ወደ አፋር ድንበር እስከ ማስጠጋት የደረሰ ደፋር ነው፣ እስማኤል። ኧረ ለምርጫ ውድድሩ "የአዋሽ ወንዝን ለስጦታ አበርክትላቸኃለሁ" ለማለትም ትንሽ ይሉኝታ አልያዘውም።  ምን እሱ ብቻ ፤በጦርነት ጊዜ በነበረው ጫና ምክንያት የኢትዬጵያ መንግስት ከወደብ ጋር በተገናኘ ለኢስማኤል ያቀረቡት ጥያቄ በወሳኝ ሰዓት ውድቅ በማድረግ ከጠላት ጋር መወገኑን አስመስከሯል። ሆኖም ግን የአፋር ኃይል፣ እሱንና  ወዳጆቹ እንዳሰቡት በቀለሉ የሚሰበር አልነበረምና በአንድ በኩል የኢሳ(ሱማሌ) ጥምር ኃይልን እየተከላከሉ በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ወያኔን ሚሌን እየናፈቀው ወደ ቤቱ እንድመለስ ማድረግ በመቻሉ የእስማኤል ደም ግፊት ተነስቶ ለህክምና ከሀገር መውጣት ግድ ሆኖበት ነበር። 

(4). ስትራቴጂው ስከሽፍ፤ 

የጅቡቲው እስማኤል ከግብረ አበሮቹ ጋር ሆኖ ሌላ አጋጣሚዎችን ከመጠበቅ አልቦዘነም። የኢትዬጵያ ፖሎቲካ በአስቸጋሪ ሁኔታ የገባ ስመስለው አጋጣሚውን ለመጠቀም ከመሞከር አይሰንፍም። በተለይ የኢትዬጵያ ጎሮሮ የሆነው ኢትዬ ጅቡቲ መንገድን የሽብር ቀጠና ለማድረግ ያላደረገው ሙከራ አልነበረም። የትምህርት ሚኒስቴር ሰራተኞች፣ የፌዴራል ፖሊስ አባላት፣ የመከላከያ አመራሮች፣ የአፋር ፀጥታ አካላት፣ የከባድና ቀላል መኪና ሹፌሮችና የአፋር አርብቶ አደሮች የዛ ሽብር ጥቃት ሰለባ የሆኑ ንፁኃን ናቸው። 

እንደገና ሌላ እድል ሙከራ 

የወያኔ ኃይል በሁለተኛ ዙር ወረራው ጭፍራን  ይዞ ዞን አምስትን ስያጠቃ የኢሳ (ሱማሌ) ኃይል ጋር ኡንዳፎዖ ለመገናኘት ቀጠሮ ነበራቸው። በደዌ አድርጎ ወደ ኡንዳፎዖ ለመቆረጥ ያደረጉት ሙከራ የዛ ቀጠሮ ቦታ ለመድረስ ነበር። ሆኖም ግን እቅዳቸውን ቀድሞ ያወቀው የሀገር መከላከያና የአፋር ልዩ ኃይል መንገዱን ታሬና ላይ እንደዘጋባቸው ስያውቁ ወደ ሸዋሮቢት አቅጣጫ ለመመለስ ተገዶ ነበር። ያ ብቻ አይደለም የወያኔ ኃይል አፋርን ለሦስተኛ ዙር ስወር (ሰሜን ዞን) አጋጣሚውን ከመጠቀም የማይቦዝነው የኢሳ (ሱማሌ) ኃይል ጥቃት ፈፅሞ ነበር።  የአፋር ህዝባዊ ኃይል ካለ ማንም እገዛ ሁለቱንም ኃይል እየተከላከለ መቋቋም በመቻሉ ያሰቡት shock doctrine  ስልታቸው እንዳልሰራ ቢረዱም፤ ቢያንስ ኃይላቸውን ሰላዳከምን ከዚህ በኋላ የአፋር ኃይል ስጋት ልሆን ወደ ማይችልበት ደረጃ አድረሰናል የሚል ግምገማ ያደረገው የወያኔ ኃይልና በዛ ተማምኖ ውጊያ የከፈተው የኢሳ(ሱማሌ) አሸባሪ ኃይል ከኡንዳፎዖ መውጣቱን ስሰሙ ከጅቡቲው ኃይል ባልተናነሰ ደረጃ የወያኔ ኃይልም ከባድ ድንጋጤ ውስጥ ገብቷል። የአፋር ስነልቦና ከአለት የጠነከረ የማይናወጥ የማይሰበር መሆኑን የገባቸው ዘገይቶ ነው። 

(5) . ቀጠናዊ የኃይል አሰላለፍ ለውጥና የኢትዬጵያ ፖለቲካ 

ዶር አብይ አህመድ ወደ ስልጣን እንደመጣ መንበረ ስልጣኑን ለመቆጣጠርና ለመደላደል የግድ የቀጠና ኃይል አሰላለፍ መቀየር ነበረበት። ከሱማሊያው ፌርማጆና ከኤርትሪያው ኢሳያስ ጋር በፍጥነት ጥምረት ማድረግ የተፈለገው ለዛ ነበር። ሚጢጢዬዋ ጅቡቲ ግን ጥምረቱን እንደ ስጋት በማዬት ከዚህ በተቃራኒ የተሰለፉት ኃይሎች ጎን ተሰለፈች። አልሲሲን ጋብዛ በአባይ ጉዳይ መግለጫ እስከ መስጠት ደረሰች። የሱማሊያ አሊያንስ ለመስበር አሸባሪዎችን በመደገፍ አለመረጋጋት ለመፍጠረ ሞከረች። 

በተመሳሳይ መልኩ በአገር ውስጥ የፖለቲካ ኃይል አሰላለፍ ውስጥ ትልቅ ሚና የነበራት ትግራይ ወደ ዳር በመውጣቷ ተተኪ ያስፈልግ ነበር። "ኢትዬጵያኒስቱ" ሙስጠፌ ለዚህ ክብር ለመታጨት ወራት አልፈጀበትም። በመሆኑም የአፋር ሀጅ አወል ለዚህ ክብር ለመታጨት የወያኔ ጦርነት እስከሚነሳ መጠበቅ ነበረበት። 

የወያኔ ጦርነት አፋርን ብዙ ዋጋ ቢያስከፍልም ብዙ ትሩፋት ደግሞ አስገኝቷል። ከትሩፋቶቹ ውስጥ በዋናነት የሚጠቀሰው አፋር በኢትዬጵያ ፖለቲካ ብቻ ሳይሆን በአፍሪካ ቀንድ እንደ ጂኦግራፊዋ የመሀል ቦታ መያዝ መቻሏ ነው። ባለፈው ሳምንት ኡንዳፎዖ ነፃ ያወጣው የአፋር ኃይል፣ አፋርን ብቻ ሳይሆን ኢትዬጵያን ለማተራመስ የኢትዬ–ጅቡቲን መንገድንና አዋሽ ወንዝን መቆጣጠር ግቡ ያደረገው የአልሸባብ አሸባሪ ኃይል ህልም አከርካሪ የሰበረ ስሆን እንደ ሁልጊዜው ኢትዬጵያን ከውጭ ኃይል የመከላከል የዘውተር ተግባሩን ፈፅመዋል። ያም ሆነ ይህ ኡንዳፎዖ ነፃ በወጣች በማግስቱ ጠሚ ዶር አብይ አህመድ የሱማሌ ክልል ስንዴ ለመጎበኘት በሚል ሰበብ ጅግጅጋን ጎራ ያለው ለፕሬዝደንት ሙስጠፌ "አርፈህ  ተቀመጥ!" የሚል ቀጭን ትዕዛዝ በጆሮው ሹክ ለማለት ነበር። 

እስማኤል ኡመር ጌሌስ? በሂደት የሚናየው ይሆናል!! 

(6). እንደ መውጫ

 

ኡንዳፎዖ ከአሸባሪዎች ነፃ መውጣቷን ተከትሎ ከሃርጌሳ እስከ መቅድሾ፣ ከጅግጅጋ እስከ ጅቡቲ፣ በየሚድያው ቅስቀሳ ተጧጥፈዋል። አላማቸው በተከፈተው ቀዳዳ ገብቶ አፋርን ብሎም ኢትዬጵያን ማተራመስ ስሆን የወያኔ ዳግሞ ወረራ እንድጀመር በጉጉት እየጠበቁ ይገኛሉ። አፋር ደግሞ እንደ ሁልጊዜው በፈጣሪ ተመክቶ አገሩንና ክብሩን ላለማስደፈር በተጠንቀቅ እየተጠባበቀ ይገኛል። 

ሰላም!

Expansion of Issa Somali in to Afar Territories

Historical expansion of Issas into Afar 

Under here, the historic expansion of issas into the afar territory have been explain simply:

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,...............,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The 1935 Italian invasion and subsequent occupation of the country (1935-1941) adversely influenced Afar-Issa relations. The Italians not only recruited Somali native soldiers and supported the Issa by providing arms and training, but also severely punished the Afar because of their alliance with the Ethiopians More importantly, the Issa who sided with the Italians began to have access to the Allighedi plains 31 with Italian support (Ibid). 

In the immediate post-war period, the Issa successfully expanded into traditional Afar territories. In 1947 as a result of a violent conflict between the two groups, the Afar were evicted from #Erer, #Aydora, #Asbuli and #Buti'yi localities in the former Adal, Issa and Gurgura awraja. During this period, the Afar also had to vacate the eastern side of the railway. Following this, the Haile Selassie government in 1948 decreed that the #Erer River should serve as a geographic divide between the Afar and the Issa. To maintain this boundary, the government deployed hundreds of troops until 1963.

The troop pullout in 1963 precipitated the outbreak of violence anew, leading to further Issa expansion into Afar territories (Seyoum et al. 1999: 15-16). 

The 1970s saw such radical changes in Ethiopia as the overthrow of the Haile Selassie government and the emergence of a Marxist military regime, the Derg. Unprecedented levels of intra and interstate conflict in the Horn of Africa characterised the post-1974 era, with Ethiopia at the epicentre.

The conflict situation of the Horn of Africa led to the entanglement of the Afar-Issa conflict with broader international and regional conflicts. In this regard, the 1977-8 Ethio￾Somalia war was of particular importance. 

According to John Markakis, one of the divisions of the Somalia backed WSLF was mainly composed of the Issa and was initially prepared to annex Djibouti. After Mogadishu dropped that plan, this division served in the Ethio-Somalia war in the Awash valley (1987: 446-7). 

After the war, the Issa managed to penetrate deep into the Awash valley and establish new Issa settlements on the highway that links Addis Ababa to the Assab/Djibouti ports. 

The most notable settlement in this regard was Gedamaitu, established in 1982. 

The Issa who were then located to the east of the highway were told not to come nearer than 40 kilometres to the highway. However, they were allowed to graze their livestock on the first 10 kilometres of the restricted zone. 

The military regime also dismantled the 

Gedamaitu town that emerged as an important transit point for contraband trade. 

After EPRDF’s takeover in 1991, the government ceased to enforce the above measures. Consequently, the 40 km restricted zone disintegrated, the Issa reconstituted the Gadamaytu town and further encroached into Afar territories. (Getachew 2001b: 30). 

As indicated in several studies, 

After TPLF regime take over in 1991, Issa expanded in several territories of Afar with high contribution of TPLF government. We Afar claim, there is TPLF and Djibouti government military backing the Issa invasion of Afar traditional territory and has established controband hubs on Addiss Ababab-Djibouti tarmac road. 

At the present, the Afar people doen't need to negotiate with the issas clan unless they leave land they took by force. It's known among the ethiopian people that issas and united Somalian people pushed Afar people from thier traditional border by force.

First, If the federal government wants to resolve the conflict, It should know that the Afar-issa border is the #Erer River. The Afar states that are taken by the tribes of Issas must return for afars. Issas should be returned to the predominant Shinille city. 

Source.... Study on Inter regional conflict by AK Adegah, 2009.