Conflict in Tigray: provincial leader agrees to continue fighting against central government

The United Nations has warned that the continuation of the current conflict in Ethiopia could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.

Last Sunday, Abiy Ahmed gave the fighters in Tigray 72 hours to surrender. The army also warned the 500,000 inhabitants of the province that the soldiers would “surround” the city and attack it.

Gebremikail, commander of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, said the prime minister: “He does not understand who we are. We are partisans of principle and we are ready to die in defense of our right to rule the region,” as quoted by Agence France- Press.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front is a very popular political party in the region that once had an armed movement that led the fight that finally toppled the Ethiopian government in 1991.

The Tigrayan leader also added, according to Reuters, that the government’s accusations about Mikkeli are nothing more than a cover that government forces should be able to regroup after the army’s defeat on three fronts.

It is currently difficult to verify what is happening in this region, as Internet service in the region has been cut off.

What else is going on?

The Addis Ababa government has accused TPLF forces of destroying infrastructure, including the airport in the former resort town of Axum, according to the pro-state website Fana.

The website posted images of an airstrip that suffered some damage, accusing the front of wrecking the economy.

The front did not comment on these accusations, but the regional leader told Reuters news agency last Sunday that his forces were able to stop the advance of federal forces.

“They send wave after wave, but it’s useless,” he added.

Are there attempts to reach a diplomatic solution?

The United Arab Emirates, which is one of the most important allies of the Ethiopian government, has expressed its concern about the situation at the level of the conflict in the Tigray region, highlighting that it is in contact with several African countries and other countries around the world to end the conflict.

Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa in his capacity as the current session president of the African Union, announced a meeting between three former presidents to mediate and end the conflict.

But Ethiopia rejected the African Union president’s offer because it considered its military operations in Tigray a “national law enforcement mission.”

“We don’t negotiate with criminals, but we bring them to justice, not to the negotiating table,” said Mamu Mihreto, a senior adviser to Abe.

He added: “It would be better for the brothers and sisters in Africa to play an important role which is to pressure the TPLF to surrender. You know very well that no one wants to go to Tigray or Mekele to explain this to them.”

Mihreto noted that the government is doing “everything possible” to allow UN organizations to provide aid to people in the region.

Why is there fighting in Ethiopia?

The roots of the conflict in Ethiopia extend to long-standing tensions between the TPLF, the powerful regional political party, and the country’s central government.

And when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the postponement of the national elections due to the spread of the Coronavirus last June, the escalating events began, with the front announcing that the central government had become illegal and that Abiy Ahmed no longer had authority due to the expiration of his mandate. The region also held its own elections, which the Addis Ababa government called “illegal”.

On November 4, the Prime Minister announced the launch of a military operation against the front, accusing his fighters of attacking the headquarters of the northern region of the Ethiopian army in the city of Mikeli, the provincial capital.

The Front, which is the strongest political party in this region, denied the accusations launched by the federal government.

The number of RUF fighters, who belong mainly to a well-trained paramilitary unit and local militias, is believed to be around 250,000.

How bad is the situation in Tigray?

Aid agencies are unable to reach the conflict zone in Ethiopia, amid fears that thousands of civilians have died in the area since the conflict broke out earlier this month.

Some 33,000 refugees have crossed the border into Sudan, fleeing the conflict, while the United Nations said it is preparing to receive some 200,000 refugees who will reach Sudanese territory over the next six months if the fighting continues.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front faced charges of firing rockets at the city of Bahr Dar in the Amhara region, adjacent to the Tigray region, but the Amhara government confirmed that there were no casualties or damage.

But reports of these alleged missile strikes in Amhara, which has long been in conflict on the border with Tigray, have raised fears that the conflict will spill over into a broader war after regional forces are dispatched to aid the forces. Federals in their fight against the front in Tigray.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has expressed concern over the flow of refugees to Sudan, which it describes as a threat to the stability of a country that supports about a million people displaced from other African countries.

Reports indicate that there are many children among the refugees arriving in Sudan. Aid agencies say the ceasefire could help thousands of civilians trapped inside Ethiopia.

Humanitarian organizations are seeking to raise around $ 50 million to provide food and shelter to newly arrived Ethiopian refugees.