Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses the (un-)making of territorial controls in Wag-Himra zone during the civil war in Northern Ethiopia. It argues that the war did not necessarily have an exclusive, win-lose territorial outcome, and illustrates unique case of negotiated territorial outcome in Wag-Himra zone.

Paper long abstract:

This paper analyses the spatial dimension of the Ethiopian civil war with particular emphasis to the (un-)making of territorial controls in Wag-Himra zone of Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. It argues that the civil war in Ethiopia’s north did not necessarily have an exclusive, win-lose territorial outcome, and illustrates a unique case of negotiated territorial outcomes in the Agew inhabited Waghimra zone. This argument is based on the study conducted through a qualitative method with data collected from key informant interviews and review of secondary sources. The Ethiopian government appeared to have decided to leave certain areas of Wag Himra Zone under the TPLF after the decisive push in December 2021. The TPLF continues to control and administer two districts of the administrative zone, Abergelle and Tsagbji woredas, while it has abandoned control of other areas in Amhara and Afar regions. On the other hand, during the past two years, the Waghimra zone’s administrative control was expanded to Ofla and Korem districts which were under Waghimra’s administration in pre-1990s. The unique negotiated territorial arrangement in Waghimra zone, it is argued, is a consequence of four interactive factors. Firstly, the geographical factors; second, the socio-political ties between communities and political elites in Waghimra and Tigray regions including during TPLF’s rebel years in the 1970s and 80s; third, the marginalization of the Wag Himra zone by the Amhara regional government; and fourthly the political mobilization of the population by politicians working against the Amhara region, and a few in alignment with the TPLF.