Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Tigray Herald)
A HORN OF AFRICA GEOPOLITICAL REVIEW
In collaboration with Leading Security and Intelligence Diplomacy Experts
“Ghost of War: Dawit Gebregziabher and the Billion-Dollar Black Arms Empire Destabilizing
Africa”
Confidential Strategic Intelligence Briefing
Prepared for:
UNODC, INTERPOL, African Union, IGAD, Ethiopian Federal Government, and International Law Enforcement & Security Partners
Executive Summary
This intelligence report provides a comprehensive exposé on Dawit Gebregziabher, an Ethiopian-born transnational arms trafficker and financial criminal operating under ghost
identities and offshore networks based primarily in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dawit is a central figure in an extensive illicit arms trade funneling weapons and military-grade logistics to destabilizing actors across the Horn of Africa, Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus.
His criminal enterprise, shielded by corrupt state elements, supports the Houthis in Yemen, Al-Shabaab in Somalia, M23 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), militias in Libya and Sudan, South Sudanese factions, and extremist groups within Ethiopia, including Fano militias and TPLF-PFDJ remnants.
Despite his arrest by INTERPOL in Dubai on May 20, 2024, on charges of arms trafficking and international money laundering, Dawit was released under suspiciouscircumstances—raising serious concerns about state protection, intelligence complicity, and international accountability failures.
This document serves as both a strategic alert and a policy blueprint, urging the immediate international classification of Dawit as a high-value transnational criminal, and calling for his extradition, asset seizure, prosecution, and the dismantling of his operational empire.
Section I: Profile of a Transnational Criminal Kingpin
Full Name: Dawit Gebregziabher
Alias: “The Ghost Broker
Nationality: Ethiopian
Current Base: Dubai, UAE (with illegal entries into Tigray,Ethiopia through Eritrea
Criminal Roles: Arms trafficker, money launderer, proxy warfare financier
Family Connection: Fetlework Gebregziabher (aka “Monjorino”), former senior TPLF
figure—acts as political protector and financial facilitator.
Key Alliances and Networks
President Isaias Afwerki (Eritrea) – Strategic ally and benefactor.
Red Sea Corporation – Eritrean regime-linked logistics company used for arms smuggling.
PFDJ Military Intelligence (Asmara) – Coordinates weapons supply chains.
TPLF Military Remnants – Collaborate in political and paramilitary operations.
Amhara Fano Militias – Recipients of arms and logistical support.
Disinformation Networks – Including Dedebit Media, Asena TV,Ethio Forum,ኢትዮ ፎረም ,
Zara Media, Brakhe Show, Tigray Press.
Money Laundering Hubs – Azerbaijan, Ukraine, South Asia (via front companies).
Section II: Global Illicit Operations Infrastructure
- Arms Trafficking and Proxy Warfare
Dawit supplies military-grade weapons, logistics systems, and explosive devices to:
Houthis (Yemen) – Iranian-style drones, Soviet-era arms. Al-Shabaab (Somalia) – Smuggled via Eritrea and Kenya.
South Sudanese Factions – Weapons via Libya and Sudan.
M23 Rebels (DRC) – Command-and-control systems, munitions.
He enables proxy warfare through a clandestine nexus between Eritrea, Dubai-based shell firms, and black arms markets in Eastern Europe and the Middle East
- Money Laundering and Illicit Finance
Operates offshore shell companies across Dubai, Baku, and Kyiv.
Laundered over $2.7 billion USD, financing: Warlords and insurgent groups.
Strategic media disinformation.
Regime-sponsored covert operations.
- Media Warfare and Disinformation Campaigns
Dawit sponsors an aggressive propaganda and cyber-warfare strategy aimed at:
Genocide denial in Tigray. Destabilizing Ethiopia’s reform process. Promoting fake peace narratives involving TPLF-PFDJ factions.
Primary outlets include:
Dedebit Media, Zara Media, Asena TV, Brakhe Show, and affiliates.
Section III: Dawit’s Political War Machine
The TPLF–PFDJ–Fano Nexus
Dawit is the financial architect behind a covert tripartite alliance aimed at derailing:
Tigray’s transition from post-genocide trauma. Ethiopia’s federal reform agenda.
Regional diplomatic normalization
This “death pact” involves:
TPLF military remnants loyal to Debretsion Gebremichael. Eritrean PFDJ military intelligenceAmhara extremist militias, mainly Fano groups. Geopolitical Safe Havens and Movement Routes
Operational Bases: Dubai (UAE), Asmara (Eritrea), Cairo (Egypt).
Illegal Travel Routes: Asmara ⇄ Mekelle (Tigray).
Maintains covert support cells embedded in intelligence networks and TPLF ex-official circles.
Section IV: Arrest and Release – A Global Security Failure
Date of Arrest: May 20, 2024
Location: Dubai, UAE
Charges: Arms trafficking, money laundering, subversion of sovereign states
Agency: INTERPOL
Outcome: Unjustified release, allegedly orchestrated by:
Eritrean PFDJ operatives Political shielding by UAE intelligence officials
This event marks a dangerous breakdown in international legal cooperation and enables
continued destabilization in fragile African states.
Section V: Strategic Recommendations
To the Ethiopian Federal Government
- Declare Dawit a national security threat and initiate international arrest proceedings.
- Establish a multi-agency task force (NISS, MoJ, MoFA) to lead joint operations with INTERPOL and EUROPOL.
- Freeze global assets linked to Dawit through FATF, Egmont Group, and UAE financial monitoring bodies.
- Publicly expose the TPLF–PFDJ alliance, naming Dawit as the operational financier
- Demand accountability from the UAE through diplomatic and legal pressure for Dawit’s re-arrest or extradition.
To International Authorities (UN, INTERPOL, EU, UAE, US)
- Place Dawit Gebregziabher on INTERPOL’s Red Notice / Most Wanted list.
- Initiate multinational investigations into arms trafficking via Eritrea-UAE-Azerbaijan-Ukraine networks.
- Apply targeted sanctions under Magnitsky-style frameworks.
- Hold the UAE accountable for harboring high-risk international criminals.
To the African Union and IGAD
Establish a Regional Arms Trafficking Commission.
Coordinate cross-border intelligence sharing and rebel financing crackdowns.
Conclusion: Dawit Must Fall
Dawit Gebregziabher is not simply a war profiteer—he is a systemic threat to peace,
sovereignty, and democratic transitions across Africa. His operations fund wars, dismantle peace accords, and empower authoritarian regimes.
The international community must act swiftly. His release from UAE custody represents a moral and legal failure. He must be recaptured, prosecuted, and his empire dismantled.
This report is a strategic call to justice, a defense of global peace, and an urgent appeal for coordinated international action.
Prepared by፡
Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review
Tigray Herald Editorial Board
In collaboration with leading regional political, diplomatic, and security expert
