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The Ethiopian parliament has lifted the immunity of 39 MPs from the conflict region of Tigray. Reuters reports, citing the Ethiopian state news agency. The president of the region, Debretsion Gebremichael, is also affected.
Gebremichael is chairman of the Tigray Popular Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the autonomous area and insists on far-reaching independence. The government surrounding Addis Ababa-based President Abiy Ahmed is striving for a strong central state.
After escalating tensions, Abiy had recently sent military personnel to the region hundreds of kilometers from the capital. 500 people are reported to have been killed in a recent government military offensive in the separatist region.
More than 10,000 people have fled Ethiopia for Sudan since the fighting began. Aid organizations warned that the situation of the Tigray population was getting worse. Even before the conflict, 600,000 people were dependent on food aid.
TPLF is said to have planned “terrorist attacks”
The government is also taking legal action against the TPLF. More recently, a newly established task force announced that 150 “criminal” TPLF actors had been arrested in Addis Ababa for plotting “terrorist attacks.”
The government presents the offensive in Tigray as a “law enforcement measure”, not a civil war. The African Union and the UN had called for an end to the fighting, without success so far.
Prime Minister Abiy: West Tigray “liberated”
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that the army had “liberated” western Tigray region. The army also provides humanitarian aid and food in liberated areas.
As the region is currently inaccessible, communications systems have collapsed, and media representatives are unable to enter, it is currently impossible to verify government information. Around five million people live in the mountainous area.
Abiy accuses the TPLF of having started the conflict by attacking a state military base and mistreating and killing army soldiers. This has also not been verified yet.
Tigray declares a state of emergency
Prime Minister Abiy has been viewed as a reformer since his election in 2018. Among other things, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to achieve peace in the Horn of Africa.
However, ethnic tensions and conflicts have increased again during his tenure. Last week, his government launched attacks against the separatist region.
Meanwhile, the local government of Tigray also declared a state of emergency. They wanted to act against the “invasion” and defend their own independence, he said.
