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11:19 a.m. M.
Tuesday 24 November 2020
I wrote – Rana Osama:
The Ethiopian government said on Tuesday that peace talks with the dissident local government of Tigray will only be possible if military equipment is destroyed, regional leaders are arrested and federal officials are released, Reuters reported.
Radwan Hussain, a spokesman for the newly established Tigray Conflict Force, said federal forces were forced to withdraw across the border into Eritrea before regrouping and returning to fight local forces.
On Monday, the Tigray president confirmed his people’s readiness to die the day after the deadline set by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, under which Tigray leaders had 72 hours to surrender.
And after 3 weeks of launching this military operation aimed at reestablishing its authority, Addis Ababa intends to soon “besiege” the capital of Tigray and the local government headquarters of the TPLF.
And 11 days ago, Abe issued a first ultimatum to the Tigrayans, urging them to separate and join the ranks of the Federal Army. Days later, it was announced that the intervention had entered its “final stage.”
“The road to your Denmark is coming to an end, and we demand that you surrender within the next 72 hours,” wrote the Ethiopian prime minister, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, in a statement to the Liberation Front. Popular from Tigray, who runs the region.
“You are at a point of no return, take this last chance,” he added.
The Addis Ababa government confirmed control of the Adag Hamos region, 100 kilometers north of Mekele, while the Ethiopian army announced last week that it had taken control of Mihoni, 125 kilometers to the south. The two cities are located on the main highway that leads to the regional capital.
During those clashes, the Bahr Dar airfield was hit twice by rockets. The Tigray Front claimed responsibility for launching the missiles on November 13, confirming that the airport is being used by the Federal Army. He also claimed responsibility for the rocket fire at Gondar airports in Amhara and Asmara, the capital of Eritrea.
Tigray Front fighters in May 1991 led the overthrow of military dictator Mengistu Haila Mariam, and controlled the reins of politics in this country for three decades until Abe came to power in April 2018.
The party continued to rule Tigray, which is 11 territorial states under the Ethiopian ethnic federal system, with regions determined by race and language.
The Front complained of its marginalization and held it responsible for the problems facing the country. Her disagreement with the central government led her to organize her own elections this year, challenging Addis Ababa’s decision to postpone the elections due to the “Covid-19” epidemic.
Abe rejected all international calls for peace, including from the African Union, which intends to send 3 former presidents as special envoys in the coming days, while the United States and the United Nations warned of an impending humanitarian catastrophe.
The Abe government has considered the head of Tigrayan a “criminal administration” and seems determined to win the military battle rather than negotiate.
