Ethiopia releases opposition leaders in attempt to open dialogue
The Ethiopian government announced Friday it had released several opposition leaders from prison in an attempt to open dialogue and achieve reconciliation following more than a year of war, Reuters reports. The newly freed prisoners include several leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) as well as members of other ethnic and regional anti-government militias.
The TPLF was, from 1991 until 2018, the ruling party of Ethiopia and played an instrumental role in the 1991 toppling of the nation's Marxist dictatorship. Today, the TPLF is designated a terrorist group by the central government.
Fighting between, on one side, the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments and, on the other, the Tigray Defense Forces and a patchwork of smaller rebel groups, broke out in November when Tigrayan forces attacked an Ethiopian National Defense Force headquarters. Both side have reportedly committed war crimes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Following Tigrayan withdrawals from parts of northern Ethiopia in late December, the war appears to be nearing its end. A statement from the Ethiopian government said opposition leaders were released because "[o]ne of the moral obligations of a victor is mercy."
Despite these attempts at rapprochement, the horrors of war have not entirely subsided. According to Reuters, an Ethiopian airstrike reportedly killed 56 people and injured 30 in a Tigrayan displaced persons camp late Friday.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Today's political cartoons - December 22, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - the long and short of it, trigger finger, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Top Russian general killed in Moscow blast
Speed Read A remote-triggered bomb killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
NATO chief urges Europe to arm against Russia
Speed Read Mark Rutte said Putin wants to 'wipe Ukraine off the map' and might come for other parts of Europe next
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Syria government takes charge, urging 'stability'
Speed Read The rebel forces that ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad announced an interim government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
South Korea roiled by short-lived martial law
Speed Read President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law was a 'clear violation of the constitution,' said the opposition parties who have moved to impeach him
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Syrian rebels seize Aleppo in surprise offensive
Speed Read The rebels made gains against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and reignited Syria's 13-year-old civil war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published