Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Tigray Herald).
Western Tigray: The Silent Annexation Orchestrated by PP Oromo
By Gebre Gebremeskel
Western Tigray, once a vital agricultural artery of the Tigray region, today stands as a brutal symbol of engineered displacement and ethnic cleansing. Its fertile fields and border towns are no longer home to the Tigrayan families who lived there for generations. Instead, they’ve become the spoils of a calculated and deliberate campaign of demographic alteration one masterminded by the Prosperity Party’s Oromo wing, led by its most powerful figures in Addis Ababa.
This is not speculation. This is occupation.
A Quiet Invasion, A Loud Displacement
While much attention has been directed at the Eritrean Defense Forces and Amhara regional militias for their role in the war on Tigray, the deeper, less-discussed architect of the Western Tigray crisis is the Oromo political elite within the Prosperity Party (PP). Under the shadow of national unity rhetoric, they have covertly and strategically enabled the permanent separation of Western Tigray from its rightful administrative region.
Since late 2020, Western Tigray has witnessed systematic expulsions, massacres, and property seizures. Tens of thousands of Tigrayans were forcibly removed, many killed, others disappeared with no credible national investigation, no return plans, and no international accountability. Instead, the silence from Addis has been deafening and telling.
One of the most direct international acknowledgments of this crime came from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who in March 2021 declared before Congress that “ethnic cleansing” was taking place in Western Tigray, carried out by Amhara expansionist forces. His words were not diplomatic hedging they were a rare and powerful recognition of what Tigrayans have long endured.
“We have seen very credible reports of ethnic cleansing,” Blinken said. “It is unacceptable and must stop.”
Yet over four years later, the cleansing continues, the perpetrators walk free, and the international community has failed to enforce its own moral red lines.
Power Politics Over Principles
The Oromia wing of the ruling party, seeking to consolidate power and sideline Tigray’s political influence, tactically allowed and legitimized the Amhara annexation of Tigrayan land. In doing so, they’ve created a buffer zone between Tigray and Sudan, weakened the Tigrayan resistance, and deepened interethnic mistrust all while projecting the image of a neutral central government.
It is a dangerous strategy. The Oromo-led federal command centers provided air support and logistical coordination for the war in Tigray. Federal intelligence and security forces, largely controlled by PP Oromo loyalists, suppressed dissent and silenced those who exposed the ethnic-based atrocities. This is not just negligence it is complicity.
A Crime With No Expiry Date
International observers may call this a “disputed territory,” but for the thousands of Tigrayan families robbed of their homes, Western Tigray is the scene of an unfinished genocide. And its architects not only the Amhara elite, but also the Oromo ruling class within PP must be held accountable.
To ignore the role of PP Oromo in this crisis is to rewrite history before it is even finished.
What Must Be Done
Unambiguous international condemnation of the annexation of Western Tigray.
Targeted sanctions not just on Amhara warlords, but on federal officials who enabled the ethnic cleansing.
Immediate humanitarian access and guaranteed safe return for all forcibly displaced Tigrayans.
And most importantly, a transitional justice mechanism that includes the Oromo political class’s role in the violence — not just its silence.
Nothing More, Nothing Less
This is not a territorial dispute. This is an invasion, masked by federalism, executed through ethnic alliances and silence, and legitimized by the ruling party’s Oromo leadership.
Western Tigray belongs to Tigray.
The orchestrators of its ethnic cleansing belong in court.Nothing more, nothing less.
