![]() Since many years, local activist have demanded the attachment of the areas to Amhara regional state, created in 1991 out of Gonder and other provinces. Since then, many Tigrayan settlers have arrived to the area, particularly to Humera town, changing the ethnic balance. When the TPLF and its allies took power in Addis Ababa, the areas were attached to Tigray regional state. Prior to 1991, all four woredas were part of Amhara-dominated Gonder province. The population traditionally has been closer to the Amharic-speaking area of Gonder than to Tigray, but both Amharic and Tigrinya languages are used in daily life. ![]() This also applies to the surrounding woredas of Tsegede (Tegede in Amharic), Tselemti (Telemt in Amharic) and Kafta-Humera – see the map above. Similar to Raya, Wolkayit has a mixed identity. The rocks on the left side of the road have been used some weeks earlier to block Ethiopia’s main North-South road. Waja, Tigray’s southernmost town, in early 2019. Already since ethnical tensions rose in 2018, many Tigrayans avoided travelling by land to other parts of Ethiopia, fearing attacks on vehicles with Tigrayan car plates in Amhara and Oromia – as well as in the disputed Raya area. Tigray’s security forces violently suppressed demonstrations. The Amharic-speaking population of Waja, Tigray’s southernmost town, has repeatedly blocked the main road connecting central Tigray with the rest of Ethiopia. A committee called ማንነት አስመላሽ ኮሚቴ (Committee for the Reconstitution of Raya Identity) has been formed, questioning Tigray’s current borders. Since 2018, tensions in Raya are growing. In Alamata woreda, for instance, Amharic is the mother tongue of about one third of the population. As a result, several Amharic-speaking towns and villages in Raya became part of Tigray. This means: Tigray’s borders shifted southwards, at the expense of previously Amharic-governed territories. While the territory of Raya-Azebo remained within the boundaries of Tigray, Raya-Kobo was divided between Tigray and the newly created Amhara regional state. After the revolution of 1991, in which the TPLF and its allies took power in Addis Ababa, the two Raya awrajas were dissolved. Raya-Azebo belonged to Tigray province, while Raya-Kobo was part of the multiethnic Wollo province, where Amharic language dominated. Until 1991, Raya was divided into two districts (awrajas): Raya-Azebo in the North, and Raya-Kobo in the South. Some Raya-Oromos in Tigray, however, now see themselves as a sub-group of the Tigrayan ethnicity. As a result of this and their distance to other Oromo lands, most Raya-Oromos have assimilated linguistically to either Amharic, Tigrinya, or both – but preserved their distinct identity. In the last couple of decades, many Amharas and Tigrayans (Tegaru) have settled in Raya. Its population has traditionally been neither Amhara nor Tigray, but Oromo. The territory lies at the border of nowadays‘ Tigray and Amhara regional states. Raya-Rayuma has a complex and mixed identity. This article briefly explains these border conflicts. Even though the border issues are not the reason for the current conflicts, Tigray’s neighbours might use the opportunity to settle old scores. Both Eritrea and Amhara are now involved in Ethiopia’s military intervention in Tigray. Tigray has territorial disputes with Eritrea and Amhara, its southern neighbour region within Ethiopia, but these conflicts have been frozen for many years. This sudden escalation brings Tigray’s border conflicts back into focus. The federal government reacted harshly: It cut all ties to Tigray’s government and declared it illegitimate – and started a military intervention to replace the Tigrayan government on 4 November. In summer 2020, PM Abiy decided to postpone national and regional elections due to the Covid-19 crisis. Tigray’s elections exacerbated a crisis that was looming since Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s ascension to power in 2018: The TPLF lost power in Addis Ababa, but fortified its hold on Tigray and increasingly disregarded decisions made by the federal government. They confirmed the rule of TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front aka Woyane), which has administered the state since 1991 and was the dominant force within the federal government until 2018. On 9 September 2020, Ethiopia’s regional state of Tigray held elections. Nevertheless, understanding these border conflicts helps understanding the events currently unfolding. Disclaimer: This article does not intend to portray the ongoing war as a conflict about Tigray’s disputed borders – there are clearly other reasons.
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