ANU Press Release
For immediate release
Date: 07.11.2025
Subject: Urgent Report on Military Attack in Raya, Agaezi, Ethiopia and Risks of Renewed Conflict
To:
- The United Nations
- United Nations Human Rights Office
- UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
- U.S. Department of State
- United Nations OCHA
- U.S. Embassy, Addis Ababa
- U.S. Mission to the United Nations
- U.S. Mission to the African Union
- European Commission
- African Union
- British Embassy, Addis Ababa (UK in Ethiopia)
- UN Geneva
- Embassy of the Netherlands in Ethiopia
- Incident Overview
We write to bring to your immediate attention a serious escalation in the ongoing Tigray triangular political and civil conflict. According to verified local and regional sources, the Ethiopian Air Force, under the Prosperity Party led by Abiy Ahmed Ali, carried out a drone strike targeting TPLF security forces in Tonsa, Raya, Agaezi, Ethiopia, near the Afar border.
- Impact: Multiple casualties and injuries among TPLF personnel.
- Nature of Strike: Precise and coordinated, indicating deliberate targeting.
- Potential Violation: May contravene the Pretoria Agreement, which established a framework for peace and conflict resolution.
- Conflict Dynamics: The “Triangular War”
Key Actors & Locations:
- Mekelle (Tigray, Ethiopia): Flashpoint due to TPLF factionalism.
- Asmara (Eritrea) & Border Areas: Longstanding territorial, political, and security tensions.
- Addis Ababa (Ethiopian Federal Government): Managing both internal Tigray conflict and external tensions with Eritrea.
Nature of the Triangular Conflict:
- Multi-linkage conflict: Ethiopia vs. Tigray, Eritrea vs. Tigray, Ethiopia vs. Eritrea (border and strategic disputes).
- TPLF internal factionalism complicates peace efforts.
- Eritrea views Ethiopia’s ambitions and Tigray revival as security threats.
- Regional spillover risk: Neighboring states may be drawn in, destabilizing the Horn of Africa and triggering humanitarian crises.
Recent Developments:
- Mobilization of Eritrean forces, accumulation of Ethiopian troops near the border, renewed fighting in Tigray.
- Exclusion of Eritrea from the 2022 peace deal deepened distrust.
- Overlapping conflicts in the Horn (Sudan, Somalia) further exacerbate risk.
- Implications for the Habesha Agaezi / Geʽez-Heritage Community
Who We Are Talking About:
- Habesha Peoples: Geezland, Geez-Sea, and associated communities (Tigre, Amhara, Tigrayans, Gurage, Harar, Gamo, Zey, Tigrinya, etc.), sharing Geʽez history and heritage.
- Geʽez Heritage: Classical and modern script, language, and civilization central to liturgy, governance, narrative traditions, and cultural identity. Historically tied to Orthodox Christianity but inclusive of all Habesha Agaezi regardless of color, sex, religion, or culture.
Impacts of the Conflict:
- Identity Strain: Rival political and ethnic mobilization threatens the shared “Agaezi-Habesha” national identity.
- Cultural Threats: Orthodox churches, monasteries, and liturgical traditions risk damage, looting, or disruption.
- Displacement & Demographics: Internal displacement and refugee flows weaken community cohesion and traditional Geezland livelihoods.
- Marginalization & Assimilation: Smaller groups (Agew, Kunama, Irob, Afar) risk being overshadowed.
- Language & Literacy: Promotion of Geʽez may be contested in politically charged environments.
Specific Consequences:
- Loss or damage of heritage sites and historic villages.
- Disruption of education and health services.
- Economic collapse of traditional Geezland agriculture and trade networks.
- Potential fragmentation of shared Habesha Geezland identity.
- Key Consequences & Risks Ahead
Consequences:
- Humanitarian crisis threatening civilians in Mekelle, Tigray, and surrounding highlands.
- Cultural loss: Geʽez and Habesha Agaezi highland traditions at risk of marginalization.
- Political fragmentation: Ethiopia’s federal structure may be stressed; smaller highland communities sidelined.
- Regional instability affecting Eritrea and Red Sea diaspora communities.
- Intensified identity politics hardening ethnic or sub-ethnic divisions.
Risks:
- Re-ignition of full-scale war involving Ethiopia and Eritrea.
- Marginalization of smaller highland groups like Kunama, Irob, Afar, and Agew.
- Weakening inter-generational transmission of Geʽez/Orthodox heritage due to fragmentation.
- Economic and demographic decline of Geezland regions.
- Divisive language policies potentially rupturing over 3,000 years of shared Geʽez cultural history.
- ANU Commitment & Call to Action
As representatives of ANU Global Leadership, Geneva, we commit to:
- Monitoring and documenting developments through verified grassroots reports in Tigray, Ethiopia.
- Sharing evidence and updates to facilitate coordinated international action.
- Promoting protection of civilians, heritage, and regional stability.
- Encouraging and empowering the Habesha-Agaezi community: the war presents both a threat and a turning point. How the community responds—by preserving heritage, building inclusive identity, and protecting vulnerable Geezland groups—may determine whether the Geezland tradition survives or becomes marginalized.
We urge the UN, diplomatic missions, and international agencies to urgently consider the implications and engage in immediate action to safeguard communities and preserve highland Habesha/Agew cultural heritage.
Clarification Note — Differentiating TPLF and the People
The Agaezi National Union (ANU) stresses that the TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front) is a political-military faction and must not be equated with the civilian population of the region.
The Habesha Agaezi Ethiopians, including those residing in Tigray, represent an ancient and diverse highland community — not an arm of any political organization.
Civilians are rights-holders under international law, and their protection, cultural dignity, and access to humanitarian relief are paramount.
ANU condemns any form of collective punishment, scapegoating, or hostage-taking of the Habesha Agaezi population under the guise of political affiliation.
We call on the United Nations, diplomatic missions, and humanitarian institutions to recognize and respect this distinction in all policy, reporting, and response frameworks.
Sincerely,
Dr. Aregawi Mebrahtu
ANU Global Leadership, Geneva
info@anu-party.org