UAE and Ukraine providing military support to Ethiopia in civil war against Tigray Defense Forces
According to an exclusive report by Al Jazeera, they had discovered by satellite images that Ethiopia is receiving extensive support in their fight against forces from the northern Tigray region.
In their investigation, there were more than 90 flights between United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ethiopia between September and November 2021.
A Spanish firm is discovered to be organising 54 military-support flights between UAE and Ethiopia in less than a month, while a Ukrainian firm had organised 39 military cargo flights in 2 months.
Such military support or cargo delivery of military supplies is unlikely to be able to be done without sanction of the respective countries. We can thus assess that Ukraine and UAE are both supporting the operations by Ethiopia in their civil war.
According the satellite images, Al Jazeera also found a Chinese-made Wing Loong drone – the first time it is documented in Ethiopian military bases. It is not clear if when the drone was delivered by the People’s Republic of China to Ethiopia. However, it is worthwhile to note that China had previously signed a military agreement with Ethiopia in 2016, and the drone could very well be facilitated through that agreement.
Ethiopia had also signed a military cooperation agreement with Turkey in August this year, and it reportedly with the intention to purchase Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 drones, considered to be the most effective munitions of their type in the world – especially after the spectacular victory of Azerbaijan over Armenia armed with this exact weaponry.
