In his first public appearance, Ethiopian General Tadesse Wardi Tesfaye, commander of the Tigray People's Liberation Front forces, stated that his forces had drawn up a new plan for military operations within the framework of the military strategy set by the leadership.
Tadesse confirmed that the Tigray forces - which have been leading the war against the central government in Addis Ababa for more than a year - have evacuated some positions and redeployed, adding that what is said about the isolation of the Tigray Front is just war propaganda.
Although General Tsadkan Gebretensai is the oldest of the Tigray leaders;
The appearance of Tadasi - known in the middle of Tigray as a "pink boy" after his father - raises interest, considering that he is one of the oldest generals who retired from military service years before the outbreak of the region's crisis.
Tadsi Wardi Tesfaye .. Who is he?
July 13, 1958: Tadesse Wardi Tesfai was born in the provincial capital, Mikkeli, into a Tigray family, both father and mother, who work in agriculture.
- When Sabbah Naga - the spiritual father of the Tigray Forces Front and now imprisoned by the central government - launched military action against the government of Mengistu Haile Mariam (1974-1991), one year after it came to power, he was a "pink boy" at the time at the age of 17.
Tadesse quickly joined the Tigray Front fighters in their rural areas, trained in weapons and became one of its fighters, and remained a soldier until the Tigray Front and its allies were able to enter the capital, Addis Ababa, and overthrow Mengistu in May 1991.
- After the stabilization of the situation on the front and the start of the establishment of the Ethiopian army under the new government after the collapse of Mengistu's army, Wardi was absorbed into the army with the rank of lieutenant.
- Burhanu Tesfaye, a former fighter in the front and now living in Sudan, told Al Jazeera Net, "I worked with Ould Wardi in the eighties of the last century for 5 years. He was a brave fighter, and he has good relations with all who work with him."
A Sudanese officer who worked closely with Tadese (who refused to give his name) told Al Jazeera Net, "Tadasey is a very smart person, with charisma, and very calm in the most difficult situations and does not get excited at all."
The Eritrean-Ethiopian War
1998: As a result of their disputes over a border triangle in the Zalimbasa and Badme regions, war broke out between the two neighboring countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, and lasted for two years, killing tens of thousands of both sides.
- This war represented an important turning point in showing Tadesse's personality. After the Ethiopian forces penetrated into Eritrean territory, two positions emerged;
The first is to be satisfied with what has been achieved, and the second is to continue the advance on Asmara, the Eritrean capital, and bring down the government of Isaias Afwerki, and Colonel Tadsi was at the time with the second opinion.
Haile Afrim, a former officer in the Ethiopian army, told Al Jazeera Net, "When the matter was raised, Tadesse was one of the most enthusiastic about advancing towards Asmara," which was confirmed by a former Eritrean fighter now living in Sudan who asked not to be named for security reasons to Al Jazeera Net. With him, they look at the matter as revenge with Afwerki, so they want to overthrow him.” But the Ethiopian Prime Minister at the time, Meles Zenawi, was with the Ethiopian forces being satisfied with their victory and stopping where they are.
But Colonel Tadesse Wardi Tesfaye was assigned with others to rehabilitate the Ethiopian army, and he got involved in this work until in 2002 he became director of the Joint Training Division for all Ethiopian army units and remained in the division for 9 years.
Peacekeeping forces
2011: After Sudan, the neighboring country of Ethiopia, was split into two, and differences emerged between them over the oil-rich Abyei region.
The United Nations decided to send peacekeeping forces to the region, with Sudan and South Sudan agreeing to be from Ethiopia.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations at the time, Ban Ki-moon, appointed Major General Tadesse Wardi as the commander of the peacekeeping forces in Abyei. Wardi established the headquarters of the forces and supervised the first deployment of the forces known as “UNICEF”
- At the time, General Samora Muhammad Yunus was Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian Army, and Tadesse was directly behind him in the ranks of officers in the army, but Tadesse was referred to retirement and Samora remained in his position until 2018.
Tadesse's tenure in UNICEF witnessed the death of the former Ethiopian Prime Minister and one of the founders of the Tigray Liberation Front, Meles Zenawi, who led it until mid-2013 when he was retired from the army after being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General.
Tadesse returned to the city of Mekele, the capital of Tigray, and began to engage in commercial and agricultural business until the African Union chose him in 2015 as a military advisor to the African High Level Mechanism, which was headed by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, and was mediating the conflict between Sudan and South Sudan.
2017: Tadesse left his position in the African Mechanism and returned to his hometown, Mikkeli, to conduct his business.
November 2020: When the conflict broke out between the Tigray Front and the central government, Tadesse returned to the ranks of the fighters, but this time as one of the leaders along with a number of generals he worked with during the days of fighting against Mengistu and in the Ethiopian army.