{"id":180861,"date":"2026-11-09T23:18:58","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T04:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/?p=180861"},"modified":"2026-11-10T09:09:27","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T14:09:27","slug":"ethiopian-govt-shows-diplomats-weapons-it-says-were-captured-from-the-tplf-and-claims-egypt-eritrea-and-sudan-supplied-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/180861","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopian Gov\u2019t Shows Diplomats Weapons It Says Were Captured From the TPLF and Claims Egypt, Eritrea and Sudan Supplied Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ethiopia\u2019s Foreign Ministry and military showed foreign diplomats and military attach\u00e9s a large display of weapons in Addis Ababa on Friday that officials said had been captured from the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front, and a senior ministry official claimed the arms had come from Egypt, Eritrea and Sudan.<\/p>\n

Meles Alem, director general for European and American affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, according to a Sputnik Africa<\/a> correspondent, that the TPLF had obtained the weapons from the three countries. Sputnik said the Ethiopian National Defense Force put captured artillery, ammunition, explosives and drones on show.<\/p>\n

Ghana Eye Report<\/a>, which published footage from the video agency Viory, quoted Meles as saying: \u201cEritrea must immediately and unconditionally cease harbouring remnants of TPLF leaders, other insurgent elements and fugitives, and all forms of cooperation with groups seeking to undermine Ethiopia\u2019s national security.\u201d He added: \u201cEthiopia retains the deterrent right of self-defence, subject to the applicable requirements of necessity and proportionality.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Amharic news site Goolgule<\/a> said the weapons were shown at a warehouse in Kality to foreign military attach\u00e9s based in Ethiopia and invited guests. It listed drones, missiles, anti-vehicle and anti-tank weapons and drone munitions among the items, and said officials at the visit claimed more than 1,000 drones had been captured. Goolgule said the weapons were seized by the Ethiopian army and the Tigray Peace Force. Independent Arabia carried video of the display<\/a> under the headline \u201cEthiopia displays weapons it says Tigray forces received from Egypt, Eritrea and Sudan.\u201d<\/p>\n

None of the reports Zegabi reviewed described any independent inspection of the weapons, and Zegabi could not verify where they were made, how they reached Tigray, or when and where they were captured. HornPost<\/a> noted that independent investigators have not established Addis Ababa\u2019s claims and that experts would need to examine weapon markings, serial numbers and supply documents to trace the equipment\u2019s origins.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s event was not the first such showing. HornPost, citing Wazema Radio, said the army displayed drones, loitering munitions and other equipment to foreign defense representatives in October, when officials also alleged that Eritrea and Sudan had supplied some of it to Tigrayan forces.<\/p>\n

Eritrea has repeatedly denied working with the TPLF, The Abay Times<\/a> reported in October. On the day of the display, Eritrea\u2019s information minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, published a long statement on X<\/a> accusing Ethiopia\u2019s ruling party of planning to invade Eritrea and seize its southern coastline, and saying Ethiopia\u2019s Oct. 9 notice to the UN Security Council announced a war of aggression against Eritrea \u201cunder the spurious pretext of \u2018self-defense.\u2019\u201d His statement did not mention the weapons display.<\/p>\n

Zegabi found no public response to Friday\u2019s display from the governments of Egypt or Sudan, or from the TPLF, by Sunday morning. The closures of Sudan\u2019s consulate in Assosa and Ethiopia\u2019s consulate in Gedaref were reported on Nov. 4, after Sudan accused Ethiopia of letting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces launch drones from Ethiopian territory, according to Al Jazeera\u2019s account of Reuters, AFP and AP reporting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The display drew sharp and divided reactions on X. Yosef Alemayehu (@AlemayuVoice<\/a>), who lists Addis Ababa as his location, shared a video of the weapons and wrote in Amharic: \u201cWho bought weapons while the people were busy with development? We are a people who need no war of any kind\u201d (our translation). Ewnet Media (@abbygedam<\/a>), whose bio says it promotes \u201cEritrea\u2019s true narrative,\u201d titled an Amharic livestream: \u201cThe other day, \u2018Eritrea has no weapons!\u2019 Today, \u2018Egypt and Eritrea gave the TPLF weapons!\u2019\u201d (our translation). Yirgaalem Birhane (@YirgaBirhane<\/a>), replying to Sputnik Africa in English, wrote that the country\u2019s leaders had displayed their own weapons and called it \u201cdrama as usual.\u201d Anis Mansour (@anesmansory<\/a>), whose bio says he is a former media adviser at Yemen\u2019s foreign ministry, called the event a \u201ctheatre of weapons in Addis Ababa\u201d and wrote in Arabic that the accusations against Egypt, Eritrea and Sudan \u201clack published independent evidence proving them\u201d (our translation). These posts are opinions and have not been verified by Zegabi.<\/p>\n

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