Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed addressing army officers
ADDIS ABABA, Nov 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The government in Addis Ababa has sent out the clearest warning yet to regional forces of the beleaguered Tigray government to lay down their weapons or face Ethiopia‘s army in the regional capital Mekelle when a 72-hour ultimatum expires.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed issued a statement announcing what he called the commencement of the “final and third phases” in the altercation with Tigray. Ethiopian forces have previously launched attacks on strategic Tigrayan positions in the north over the last few weeks.
“Realizing that we are now in the last stages of the law enforcement action, we call upon them (the Tigrayan forces) to take advantage of this last opportunity and surrender peacefully to the government in 72 hours,” the statement said.
Abiy also called on civilians in the region to stand with national forces against a “few greedy individuals that are seeking impunity”. Ethiopia believes Tigray’s government is hoping to bolster its side of the story by leading national defense forces into committing collateral damage to lives, property as well as historical and cultural sites.
Tigray is eponymously named after the ethnic group who call the northern regional state their home. The Tigray ethnic group constitutes only about 5% of the country’s population but it is thought to probably the richest. Tigray is represented by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which used to be led by former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The TPLF backed out of a governing coalition headed by the current prime minister over disagreements with Ahmed. These disagreements have since devolved into violent tensions.
Lawmakers in the country’s parliament have also proposed deliberating on a motion that seeks to characterize the TPLF as a terrorist organization.
The north of the country holds the bulk of Ethiopia’s military installations, a situation that resulted from the 1998 war with northern neighbor Eritrea. This has generated widespread fears that a full-on confrontation between the government and Tigrayan forces would only spark a civil war.
Ethiopia’s security is already fragile with different ethnic groups in other parts of the country clamoring for everything from inclusion in the national government to secession.
Meanwhile, leader of the TPLF Gebretsion Micheal rejected the 72 hours ultimatum for the dissident region of Tigray to surrender.
“How many times (Abiy Ahmed) has he said three days? He doesn’t understand who we are. We are a people of principles and ready to die to defend our right to administer our region,” the president of Tigray and leader of the TPLF, Debretsion Gebremichael said.
“This is to cover up the defeat that (Ethiopian soldiers) suffered today on three fronts. In order to have time to regroup,” he added, without specifying which fronts it was about.
The TPLF also announced, via its official news agency, Tigray Mass Media Agency, to have fired rockets on Monday at the airport of Bahir Dar, capital of the neighboring region of Amhara. This is the third time this airport has been targeted by TPLF attacks, which claims that it is used by Ethiopian aircraft bombing Tigray.
More than 40,000 Ethiopian refugees have arrived in Sudan since November 10, fleeing the government offensive against Tigray, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Monday.
The federal government now claims to control the locality of Edaga Hamus, 100 kilometers north of Mekele, and the army said last week that it controls Mehoni, 125 kilometers to the south. Both towns are on the main road to the regional capital.
Calling for a rapid de-escalation of the conflict, the international community launched several mediation attempts. The African Union (AU), in particular, appointed former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano, Liberian Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and South African Kgalema Motlanthe as special envoys.
On Monday, the spokesman of the government crisis unit for Tigray, Redwan Hussein, declined in substance this mediation, but said that the government would “talk with these envoys out of respect for (…) African leaders.
The Ethiopian government is facing new pressure from the US to stop the crackdown on the Tigray region, with some rights groups warning of possible war crimes in the area.
Just about 24 hours to the end of the second ultimatum issued by the Ethiopian Prime Minister for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to surrender, the US government said both parties should choose dialogue for the sake of civilians.
A statement from the US National Security Council indicated that Washington supports the African Union’s move to send special envoys to Addis Ababa.
“The United States calls for mediation in Ethiopia and supports the efforts led by [South African] President Cyril Ramaphosa and the African Union to end this tragic conflict now,” the Council said.
The statement signalled renewed pressure from the US, which had last week said it would focus more on peace rather than mediation as both parties had hardened their stances to fight.
The UN Security Council held its first meeting on Tuesday on the war in Tigray, at the request of South Africa, Niger, Tunisia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The virtual meeting was held behind closed doors. — NNN-AGENCIES
