Ethiopia’s Troop Pledge to Darfur said indicative of Ethiopia’s Enhanced Military Confidence and Stature

Mulugeta Alemu

4 August 2007

The African Union said that five African countries have pledged troops to the UN-AU hybrid force. African troop contribution pledges follow the decision of the UN Security Council which had earlier adopted Resolution 1766/2007 establishing a 26, 000 strong force to the Western region of Darfur in the Sudan. This comes to the relief of many since the proposed AU peace keeping mission to Somalia has been experiencing difficulty in troop commitment and contributions from AU member states. The countries who have committed themselves to contribute troops to Darfur include Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, and Nigeria. Ethiopia becomes the only and the first neighbouring country to the Sudan that has declared such pledge so far. Regarding Somalia, IGAD had excluded neighbouring countries from contributing troops. Hence the AU move is an important shift from the stance IGAD had taken when it decided to exclude what it called Front Line States from contributing forces to Somalia under its IGASOM plan. That decision was subject to criticisms.

Ethiopian Prime Minster Meles Zenawi in his meeting with the Sudanese Foreign Minster Lam Akol recently expressed Ethiopia’s support for the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Darfur. Already a 7, 000 strong African Union force is stationed in Darfur. Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia have troops in the Sudan. The new UN-AU Hybrid force is expected to replace AMIS forces by December 31, 2007.

The journey to a full operationalization of the hybrid force will be tricky. The peace-keeping mission is expected to cost an estimated amount of 2 Billion USD each year. On the political front, archiving unity among the fragmented fighting rebel groups who have been meeting in Arusha, Tanzania over the weekends is a tall order. Achieving a comprehensive peace process signed up by all groups is an important requirement for the success of the peace-keeping mission. The Arusha meeting is organized under the joint auspices of the African Union and the UN through their respective envoys Salim Ahmed Salim and Jan Eliasson. The EU has made the biggest financial pledge so far. Showing how serious the financial implications of the establishment of the peacekeeping force is, EU’s 500 Million USD pledge does not even meet half of the estimated one year expense of the mission. There were also concerns that given the lack of contribution to the AU mission in Somalia, the hybrid force may also face similar problems. The promise made by Ethiopia and other countries from the African continent is therefore a much needed indication that Africa is ready to live up to its promises.

Ethiopia seeks to contribute a staggering 5000 troops. According to officials of the Ethiopian Minster of Defence who spoke to international journalists (AP, 2 August 2007), the number of contribution could even be higher. They noted that Ethiopia’s troop commitment to Somalia and the border region with Eritrea has not yet overstretched its capacity.

Some analysts consider that Ethiopia’s military confidence and increased international commitment comes as a result of the modernization of the military under Prime Minster Meles Zenawi government. It has a relatively modern and effective air force. In the last decade, it has managed to build a high notch military technical college that is training young professionals not only to the military but also to civilian sector. The parliament had adopted a proclamation establishing a reserve army which make it possible to raise a quickly deployable force to troubled spots. The military has also achieved a remarkable result in diversifying its forces to make sure that they reflect the ethnic composition of the country.

Ethiopian military has also perhaps the most efficient and domesticated counter-insurgency competence. It has undertaken several counter-insurgency measures at home during the last several years. Its operation in Somalia, which came following the invitation for support from the Transitional Government of Somalia, has also shown how efficiently it can undertake such mission in a fanatical, urban and strange environment.

The Ethiopian military confidence has also helped it to play an important role in military diplomacy. Ethiopia is currently an active participant in the establishment of a pan-African standby brigade. The brigade headquarters and the logistic base for the Eastern Africa Standby Brigade are both located in Ethiopia. Brig. General Bayou Wondaferew is an Ethiopian commander in charge of EASBRIG currently. Ethiopia has also contributed peace-keeping mission troops to Liberia, Rwanda and Brundi.

Unlike the case in many countries in Africa, Ethiopian military has not had its hands in many incidents of coups in the past. Currently such foundations are further enriched as the Constitution provides for an elaborate civilian oversight. The Minster of Defence is expected to be a civilian. The government has shown seriousness in initiating these civilian oversight mechanisms when any military excesses are noticed. The establishment of the Independent Inquiry to oversee the possible role of members of defence forces in military-civilian confrontation in Gambella, West Ethiopia in 2003 was a case in point. Currently military training programs have human rights and humanitarian law as important components. Ethiopia’s gain in modernizing its military and ensuring its accountability is significant as it is being undertaken in what can be considered as one of the lowest military budgets in the world.