A Facebook post sharing five images emerged on May 15, 2022, claiming the pictures show the C-130 Hercules jets Ethiopia is armed with.
The post went viral and was shared over 44 times and got more than half a thousand reactions.
However, HaqCheck cross-checked the images and confirmed the claim to be Partly False.
The protracted war between the TPLF and the federal government and its allied forces has remained unsolved.
A humanitarian truce was declared by the federal government and was also adopted by the TPLF a few months ago. This was seen as a glimmer of hope and a window of opportunity for peace talks and peaceful resettlement of the armed conflict.
There was also an unconfirmed report that Debretsion Gebremichael, TPLF chairman, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy directly talked to one another over the phone after the truce was announced.
In audio released on YouTube, a senior military leader of the TPLF armed forces disclosed that there were direct talks and stated that he and Tadesse Werede met Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, chief staff of ENDF in Mauritius.
Asked, Birhanu Jula denied the claim that he met with the senior TPLF military leaders.
TPLF has been stating that if the diplomatic means to end the war fail, it will resort to other means indicating that it will seek military means. TPLF has been accusing the federal government and regional authorities of blocking aid from entering Tigray and complained that the aid that has recently reached was below what is needed.
A week ago Prime Minister Abiy visited the Ethiopian National Defence Forces in the town of Humera and observed its status.
Meanwhile, public conferences have been conducted in Tigray in many towns. Senior TPLF leaders including Debretsion Gebremichael, Fetleweerk Gebregziabher, Getachew Reda, and Alem Gebrewahd led the public forums and made speeches.
In a meeting in Mekelle on May 10, 2022, Debretsion Gebremichael said that the peaceful means to resolve the war has already been exhausted and called on the people to prepare for the ‘final stage’.
Reports of incursions have also appeared recently and there is a fear that a full military engagement may resume.
Recently, the Ethiopian government accused TPLF of ‘beating drums of war’ and appealed to the European Union to reprimand and urge TPLF to stop ushering in another potential war.
In this background, a Facebook post came out sharing five images to support a claim that they show Ethiopia’s C-130 Hercules jets.
The US government on June 6, 2018, delivered Ethiopia one C-130 Hercules aircraft to help the country in its peacekeeping operations, whose image is included among the five images of the post.
However, four of the five images were taken from other old publications and don’t show Ethiopian C-130 Hercules jets.
Image one
The image was taken from a video published on a YouTube channel on Jul 1, 2014, showing an Airbus A400M aircraft.
Image two
This image was snipped from a video clip released by the US Department of Defense on Twitter on Feb 28, 2018, picturing an AC-130 Hercules aircraft, nicknamed ‘the Angel of Death’.
Image three
The image was taken from a video published by the US Department of Defense and shows American crews training Ethiopian officers on how to maintain the C-130 Hercules aircraft delivered by the US to Ethiopia on June 6, 2018.
Image four
This image was a screenshot from a video published on YouTube on May 13, 2022. The video on the channel itself was also taken from another previous video published on Sep 15, 2020, on YouTube that shows an American C-130 Hercules aircraft.
Image five
Similar to image four, this image was a screenshot from a video published on YouTube on May 13, 2022. The video on the channel itself was also taken from another previous video published on Sep 15, 2020, on YouTube and explains the strength of the American C-130 Hercules aircraft.
Thus, it is found out that only one of the five images posted to support the claim was true. The rest four images were false and don’t show Ethiopia’s C-130 Hercules aircrafts.Therefore, HaqCheck rated the post PARTLY FALSE.
