It takes lots of cannon fodder to soak up bullets in the Russian style of war fighting.
[Garowe] Long queues have been witnessed in the past few weeks within the Russian Embassy in Addis Ababa, triggering sharp reactions on social media with critics claiming a number of Æthiopians could be registering to join the Russian army.For about two months, Russia has been confronting Ukraine, leading to condemnation around the world as sanctions bite Moscow for its "improper" attitude. Both sides, reports indicate, have suffered casualties.
With most countries standing in solidarity with Russia, there have been questions about the future of Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...is increasingly getting isolated from the rest of the world due to his "confrontational attitude".
On Monday, Russian Embassy in Addis Ababa denied reports that Æthiopians queuing on the premises were joining the Russian army. On the contrary, the embassy says the people lining up there are standing in solidarity with the increasingly isolated European powerhouse.
Russian embassy Press attaché Maria Chernukhina told AlAin website that "Russia has not advertised to recruit Æthiopians for the war in Ukraine, and the information circulation on social media is false." But she said it was true that Æthiopians had gone to the embassy "to show their solidarity with Russia."
Further, she insisted many Æthiopians were sending emails and delivering messages in person in support of Russians who are at war with Ukraine. According to her, the messages also thank Russia. Æthiopia is seemingly the only African country standing with Russia.
Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch shot Ike through the elbow.
Take that, Ike!he yelled......
the embassy of Ukraine in Addis Abeba informed a fact-checking website, Æthiopia Check, that "this is a tragic happening. If an Æthiopian dies in this war, it will be a tragedy for both Ukraine and Æthiopia, Ukraine said in a statement.
Back at home, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is struggling to contain internal rifts including the Tigray war which has left thousands of people dead. The war, which involves Æthiopian National Defense Forces and Tigray Defense Forces, started in November 2020.
Already, World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom says despite the declaration of a humanitarian truce
..The purposes of a truce are twofold: 1.) bring up more arms, ammunition, and reinforcements; and 2.) get the enemy to relax his vigilance. A
truceis not the same thing as a
ceasefire, and a
ceasefiredoesn't mean you have to stop shooting...
in the country, only a few trucks have been allowed to deliver food to Tigray. The Æthiopian government insists it's cooperating with other agencies to deliver the much-needed aid.
Æthiopia is also battling inter-tribe conflicts, especially in Oromia and Amhara regions. Eritrea
...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age...
troops are also believed to be fighting alongside the Æthiopian army in the Tigray region, leading to condemnation from both the US and other important stakeholders in the country.