Ethiopian army chief's speech on national sovereignty misrepresented as attack on PM

The post, shared on Facebook on July 6, 2026, in Amharic, reads: “The field marshal spoke about Abiy’s failed administration.” The claim is repeated in an Amharic text overlay.

“Field marshal” refers to Birhanu, the Ethiopian army chief, who is seen giving a speech in the top half of the clip, above an image of Abiy. 

Image

Screenshot of the post with the altered video, taken on July 8, 2026 

“Lawlessness prevails;  peace and development absent; that can not defend its territory and borders should be considered as a country that lost its sovereignty; that its peoples kill each other; that external enemies can easily invade and kill its citizens; it should be considered as a country of death, suffering and agony,” Birhanu says in the 29-second clip.

Similar posts were shared elsewhere on Facebook here and here. 

Ethiopia tensions 

Ethiopia has recently faced renewed concerns about a possible return to conflict in the northern Tigray region, where the 2020–2022 war claimed an estimated 600,000 lives (archived here). 

At the same time, Ethiopia's pursuit of access to the Red Sea has heightened tensions with rival Eritrea, whose officials have accused Ethiopia of harboring ambitions over the strategic port of Assab (archived here). 

Meanwhile, Birhanu has consistently framed Ethiopia's quest for Red Sea access as a matter of national security and sovereignty, arguing that it is not merely an economic issue (archived here). 

However, the Facebook clip does not show the army chief criticising Abiy’s leadership. 

What Birhanu said

AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches on keyframes from the video and found a longer version of the address published on YouTube by the state-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) on June 6, 2026 (archived here).  

“‘The intention of forces that aim to disintegrate Ethiopia has vanished’ Field Marshal Birhanu Jula,” the video’s title reads in Amharic.

According to the video’s description, Birhanu was speaking at the graduation ceremony of military officers from the Hurso Officer Cadet Training School. Local media also reported on the event (archived here). 

Contrary to the claim, at no point in his speech does Birhanu mention Abiy. Instead, he starts by giving his views on what sovereignty means.

"National sovereignty means the existence of government, law and order. It means the existence of a government and a people determined to ensure peace and development. It is a country whose territory and borders are respected," he says. 

From 1’35’’ to 2’02’’ in the video, he describes the features of a state that has lost its national sovereignty. It is this section of the speech that was republished out of context.

 "A country in which lawlessness prevails; in which peace and development are absent; that cannot defend its territory and borders; whose people kill one another; and where external enemies can easily invade and kill its citizens should be considered a country that has lost its sovereignty. It should be regarded as a country of death, suffering and agony."

However, the clip omits the preceding explanation in which Birhanu speaks about the general concept of national sovereignty. It also leaves out the qualifying phrase "a country in which", making it appear as though he is directly describing Ethiopia. 

Birhanu goes on to emphasise that the “military's responsibility is to defend Ethiopia's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and safeguard peace and constitutional order”.

AFP Fact Check has previously debunked claims about Birhanu here.