The rivalry between Mr. Mustapha Nurhussein, governor of Gash-Barka and Major General Filipos Woldeyohannes, Commander of the 1st Military Operations Zone (which comprises Gash-Barka and Anseba regions) is escalating.

Two weeks ago, General Filipos arrested several members of Mr. Mustapha Nurhussein�s administration including Mr. Mohammed Osman, Secretary of Gash-Barka Regional Assembly as well as member of the National Assembly; Mr. Idriss (no last name given), the Chief Engineer of Gash-Barka, as well as scores of Agordat town administrators and officials.

Mr. Mustapha Nurhussein took his case to Asmara and complained to President Isaias  Afwerki that General Filipos� actions have crippled his administration. Upon his return to Barentu, however, he found out that more arrests had taken place in his absence, including that of his brother, who is a farmer, his uncle (on his mother�s side) and his housemaid, the latter under the pretext of not fulfilling the compulsory national service.

The marginalization of Eritrea�s so-called civilian administration began last year with the establishment of four military operations zones and naming of four commanders (Filipos Woldeyohannes, Teklai Habteselasse, Gerezgheir �Wuchu�Andemariam and Haile �China� Samuel) who are considered highly loyal to the president. Since then, the "civilian" administrators (governors), who are all, like the commanders, veterans of Eritrean People�s Liberation Front (EPLF), have had their powers diminished. 

In addition to structural changes at the top, the base of the administrative zones has also been militarized: most of the sub-regions have been abolished and replaced by military clusters known as �desks.�