♪ >> this is al jazeera, these are your top stories. the taliban has swept further through afghanistan overrunning more cities, gradually encirque edge kabul. the taliban now controls more than 2/3 of the country. a warning of humanitarian camp in afghanistan as the taliban offensive droves thousands from their homes.

the u.n. secretary general has called on the taliban to immediately stop its advance. >> the members of the jury from the international community to those on the war paths must be clear. seizing powers through military force is a losing proposition that can lead to prolonged war or complete isolation of afghanistan. i call on the taliban to immediately halt the offensive and to negotiate in good faith in the interest of afghanistan and its people. >> the haitian judge chosen to lead the investigation into the assassination of the president has stepped down. he left for personal reasons. maurice was killed last month but a group of armed man who stormed the presidential residents. rights groups are criticizing a u.s. policy of expelling migrants stopped at the border.

they're flown to in connection's border and bussed to a remoment area in guatemala. the people are then left there to fend for themselves. the number of people who have skyed in algeria's wildfires has risen to 1. more than 15 firearms are still burning across 16 proindividualses. the government says many were started delicately. 22 people are suspected of arson and are now under arrest and thailand is struggling to control its biggest surge of covid yet. enormous are warning the number of cases could double by in connection month. the news continues here on al jazeera. moment? -- ♪

>> the ethiopian prime minister faces yet another challenge. rebels fighting troops from tigray are joining forces with fighters from his own either nick group. this is "inside story." ♪ >> hello and welcome to the program. months of saenz in ethiopia's tigray region have highlighted the growing ethnic kawhi divide, i a wake end old rival rills and produced new alines of scrimmages. earlier this week, he called all, in his words, all capable

either yepians to join the army and stop the oj's rebels once and for all. the tigray's liberation front responded with joining forces with another rebel group to fight the government. it means the conflict is no longer contained in one region and there are growing fears it could lead to an all-out civil war. the government condemns this latest-esque lakes. >> no group can claim to be for the people while it was using or killing the people of the region for its individual political gains and no entity can claim to be for the people of tigray while it's also killing its own people. people were tortured, killed and displaced or disappeared. many banishing them as part of their organization so i don't

believe that the youth of the region are in alignment to this as well because this is an alignment of two terrorist organizations. >> the military wing of the liberation front's political part. either koroma's largest political group says it's suffered a long history of oppression. plans to turn the capital further into farmland triggered three years ago of protest and a violence -- this paveed the way for ahmed himself that now criticize him of abusing the community just like his principled successors. if group dominated national country politics for 30 years until abiy ahmed became prime

minister in 2013. at the end of november, the government announced its forces has taken carom of the regional capital but then it took back the region and government soldiers withdrew. since then soldiers have progressed to outer regions. >> let's bring in our guests. joining us from came bridge. william davidson. ethiopian senior analyst at international crisis group. and a journalist from ethiopia and from london. the senior lecture in law at the university. a very warm welcome to you all. thanks for joining us here on al jazeera's snow snow. william davidson, give us an idea of how powerful the

liberation army is and how significant is this development is this. >> i think it's a significant development. this is the first time that major ethiopian opposition force has shown its support and willingness to aly with the tigrayan forces, which are showing their capabilities and are increasingly on the offensive outside of tigray as they try and pressure the federal government to come to the negotiating table on their terms and ultimately push for a transitional government. and the ahmed army is -- its apparently increase and pop later and capability comes as or after the major opposition parts did not participate in the recent election, alleging

government repression and that seems to have left field to an increasing focus on the liberation army. there's a very significant political alines. what we haven't see is whether the o.l.a. has the same military capability as the tigray forces have demonstrated. >> samuel, what's your take on how this alliance might potentially deepen this conflict? >> as william said, it's a huge coalition. it's a mile steen in in conflict but you also have to understand the partnership is only based on strategic advice. it's not that partnership pepper say to get into there conflict. the difference between the tplf and ola is they community. for the last 27 years before the prime minister came to power, early in fighting against the

ptlf-led coalition government. so while it's an achievement, i have to say, i mean, i don't think it's as ground or as huge as it's -- grand or as huge as it's being made out to be because the partnership is just at the beginning stage and it might not go forward. we just have to wait and see. but they insist they have they have a bicker coalition to fight on. they're hopeful that they'll defeat the tplf and ola and that's where we were at the moment. but as this conflict moves on, more people are certain to be affected by in coalition or the conflict moving forward. >> what's your assessment of this alonzo? do you foresee both sides expanding their fights to other areas in either koroma? >> yeah, i think this is an

enormous think significant development, for two religious. one, these are two forces thatful very common -- in terms of the future of the country. an army that is wildly supported now by the largest ethnic population in ethiopia and they agree on the future. so the fact you have that strategic political alliance is significant and on the back of that, we now have a military alliance between the two forces to take on the either yemen government and also it's -- ethiopian government. and also it's important from a procedural. pablo. they have military followings in the region to enter in -- from their territory so they have

proven to be a forms to reckon with. now, they are -- a partnership with the immigration army that is operating in the western, southern, eastern parts of the kiffin. from a geographic point of view also, i give the two forces a strategic advantage. when you look at the landscape and all these mill tommy collisions, what we're looking at is probably the beginning of the end of the abiy ahmed era. >> how do you think the government will be viewing these developments? >> i think that's very, very clear, pardon me because both these organizations, as in the tplf, the ruling party of tigray and the other are both classified as terrorist

organizations. so i think that designation signifies just now baddeley this fran -- transition has gone. the idea of this transition was to create a for inclusive political space in either koroma and then come to some form of arrangement about the country's future. instead these actors who have an understand nag it should be-oed as a nut national federation have been ex suedy sad -- exceedingly excluded and now find themselves in a conflict with the federal government. we have these terrorist designations. and now they're trying to form a federal government. all we're seeing here is an intensification and expansion of ethiopia's civil warp and the lz

very hard to say, i think as samuel correctly described, just how moving forward this alliance is going to be. but i will say, this could be if end of abiy ahmed's government. but this is going to lead to the intensity of the fighting, increasing devastation, not just for the people actively evaluate involved in the combat but also civilian and is the fact that there already are severe chinks in ethiopia's vulnerability -- vulnerability. >> how weak is suspect ethiopian army at this point? >> it's been a challenge, no doubt. but i have to disagree with that being the beginning of the ends of the prime minister. if that is an indication that it

is the ends of his era, i think that's the wrong ajumps but in terms of the ethiopian army a, they did face challenges but they're one of the strongest armiles within east africa and the prime minister has called for young people to join. it's a challenge took. tigray remains a very challenging aspects of the new -- new program -- prime minister, who was just elected. you can disagree with the terms of the election and so on up but the determination is in. testify they have the numbers. they can really make a comeback but we have to recognize in terms of tplf getting into

different regions is an indication that the army is not really performing as planned. >> i want to pick up on that, samuel, talking about the army programs not performing as it should. you did refer to it as one of the strongest armies in the region. a new amnesty report came out recently detailing widespread remain and sexual saenz carried out by those defense forces "soldiers and militia subjected girls and women to as well mutilation, remain, and other forms of tor which you were often using depth threats." that is damning. how have has the government responded? >> the freshman government insists there is going to be an open investigation done along with the united nations.

i hope nall become a reality. i'm not sure if there are going to be the resources because the allegations are not just with the ethiopian army. i read the report that came out a few days another. international has its own short comings but imrespect them, i've read read the report but the investigation has to be between awful sides and i've been to the region. i've said this before, the allegations are not just within a certain group but with awful sides and i'm homing they'll have a bigger investigation so we'll know exactly what happened and we can have a road map to where he can go as humorrings or either chrome yanke. >> any reaction that you have to samuel's take on in report from

am nevery international, i'm trillion dollar and also, where do you believe the beginning of in conflict really layoff? can you explain that to us? >> yeah, sure. so the conflict is basically kidd i would -- i would lodge cam in nation. it is differences of opinion on the future direction the country has to take. on the one hand you have the prime minister who wants to centralize power and wants to return what he envisions as a flores past of the statement. a vision that most people do not agree with. on the other hand you have a vision that is uphe would and endorsed by if majority of forces in other parts of the country which then calls for a fed rated either koroma. where people would have the

right to use -- it has this clash of visions that much led to the conflict and this war certainly start inside nairobi when the prime minister turned it to police and court systems to margize the oppressed, the am signatures and go after the -- army in the western part. when the prime minister went in -- he has to get into a full-scale conflict with the support of -- because he could not do anything like what he did there. the army was a -- in a position to defend itself. this clash of visions is i think what sparked it and in some quays made the point that the

ethiopian military was one of the most -- in the area. it was. and what the prime minister did by taking the country to this war without meaningful -- about the consequences would be to undermeanwhile not only the reputation of the military but almost state institutions. it presents about 110 million with the support of if army was followinged bitch a defense force that represents a region of six impact and i think that sends a very negative snap to friends of them in the region. so although the mill tommy is fairly strong recently, i think it has no longer in a position to even defend itself from organized forces within the

country. it comes on if allegations of human rights and the report. and i think the report actually only begins to scratch the such as. the abuses we have heard about. things which were not acceptable have been in the media. it was shocking. the fact that the military that is responsible and -- that are foreign have not properly wanted to account for this atrocious crime and i think that says quite a lot about the views of the -- military. >> william davidson, we're talking there about the defense forces. air train forces are fighting on the side of the either yepen government, despite callles for

them to withdraw. that is -- what is their interest? >> they've significantly withdrawn from the conflict in tigray around the time the freshman government withdrew. and that was largely do you to the resurgence of their forces. now they're thought to be protecting areas of northern tigray, noren either koroma and i think their motel vacation is similar to the all-star governments in wanting to see the back of the ptlf as a freshman force. but the significant thing is we see those tryst -- terrorist designations by if government and we see the call for every able bodied person to fight against them but this is in the context of this war where we

have seen these many reports of milen rights abuses and essential little people have stood by their leaders and stood by tigray's rights to atom my. it's a similar situation in ola. what they represent has significant backing from the ola people. there were these counterinsurgency campaigns, shown as left and just, the pork is they're "p.t.i." bidding humberto soto last large numbers of either yepian people. and that is why in intensification is said to be so deadly. these are popular armed insurges. >> samuel, on that part, the lead says there's going to be a grand coalition against abiy

ahmed and that other groups will join in, do you see that playing out? >> i don't think so. le this foreign conflict is not going to end anytime soon. this there mike different coalitions. signed by two different functions, as different as day and night and we don't think there will be any kind of coalition to defeat ethiopia. there are certainly lots of people that see either koroma becoming like the former yugoslava. like so molla and south sudan. places they want their i'm independence but did not really receive their. because either koroma remains a place of 100 million people.

this endless conflict within either koroma, within the country is really not in the trillions offense our country. there were many, many people that were officering. including within the -- states and they were just really, really sad. i was in -- a year ago trying to understand the misgiving they have wpm government and it was that real shock and i hope either koroma will move forward from this conflict. i have hope. >> what role is or should the aftercash union be playing to try and find a way out of this conflict? >> before i comment on that point, i want to make one point on what samuel said.

he kind of paints the conflict as one between ethiopia and some forces. i think that's very -- this view is promoted by if the prime minister, who doesn't even have a proper mandate. he was elected in a same election. essentially if -- he ran alone. it's not a conflict between ethiopia and some forces. it's against two that are in arguments on the future of the country. i think that is very important. but in terms of the role the government should be. it's the largest country in the region, people for the region app peace. and i think if consequences of

imbalance in ethiopia would be significant. we already have a boarder conflict between sudan and ethiopia. there are some issues between south and sue distance. we don't know what in might do, special given our vie of the tigray nation to the world. i think it's proven itself ineffective in terms of dealing with conflicts within member states. whenever there are, for example, allegations with war crimes and jefferson side -- the join is --

to intervenus and protect the eat ownian population. what the quiet yepian -- did in effect was trying to play it down. it's not clear to what extend a reliable -- for piece. >> number for. that we will have to leave there for time but up the to all our guess. and thank you, too, for watching. you can see the program again anytime by visiting our web second time and for further discussion, facebook/forward slash, a.j. join the story. for the whole team here in doha. bye-bye for now. úç