Nairobi, Kenya – The Ethiopian army has gained “complete control” of the Tigris region’s capital, the army announced on Saturday, and the prime minister said it was a sign of the “completion” of the offensive that began about four weeks before McCall’s capture. The regional government said the final pressure to arrest its leaders had “heavily bombed” the city of half a million people.
“God bless Ethiopia and its people!” Prime Minister Abiya Ahmed said in a statement. “We have entered Macaulay without targeting innocent civilians.”
Now, he said, police will search for leaders of the Tigre People’s Liberation Front, who ran the region and dominated Ethiopia’s ruling coalition before Abia came to power in 2018 and put him among the successful reformers to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Abiya’s government has accused the TPLF of inciting unrest and seeking to reclaim power, and now each government has outlawed the other. The prime minister has denied talks with TPLF leaders during a meeting with three African Union special envoys on Friday.
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When Abi spoke of returning to “normalcy” in the Tigris region, one of his ministers told the Associated Press in a phone interview that “there is no way” that it would take weeks to find TPLF leaders.
The minister in charge of democratization, Zadig Abraha, also said the Ethiopian government did not yet know the number of people killed in the conflict.
“We have kept civilian accidents to a minimum,” he insisted. Humanitarian and human rights groups have reported the deaths of several hundred people, including fighters.
At home and in the diaspora, some Ethiopians rejoiced at the news that Michael was under military control. “Thank God Almighty, the Creator. Amen. Let peace prevail in Ethiopia !!! Former Prime Minister Helemariam Desaleg tweeted.
The war threatens to destabilize Ethiopia, described as Africa’s strategic horn and its neighbors’ lynching.
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The international alarm has risen since the conflict began on November 4, so there is a massive humanitarian crisis. The Tigris region of millions of people has been cut off from the world as the military pursued Abiyan with airstrikes and tanks, dubbed “law enforcement operations.”
Food, fuel, cash and medical supplies have dwindled. About 1 million people have been displaced in Sudan, including more than 40,000 who have fled. In the northern Tigris, the camps of the homes of the Eritrean refugees are on fire.
Once communications are disconnected, it is difficult for the warring parties to verify the claim. The Tigre leader, Debretsian J. Bre Bremaikel, could not be reached on Saturday. The heavily armed TPLF has a long history of fighting in the region’s rugged terrain, and some experts warned of a drawn-out conflict.
The TPLF has turned McCall’s churches, schools and densely populated neighborhoods into “arsenal stores and launching pads,” Redwan Hussein, a senior Ethiopian official, said in a Facebook post. He said the “scattered remnants” of TPLF fighters were carrying out “scattered firing”.
The cannon fire in the densely populated city of Macaulay immediately raised concerns about civilian casualties. The Ethiopian government warned its residents that they would not feel “pity” if they did not turn away from TPLF leaders in time. The United Nations said some had fled as the tanks closed and Abiyan’s 72-hour ultimatum to surrender to TPLF leaders had expired.
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“I invite everyone to pray for Ethiopia where the armed conflict has intensified and is creating a serious humanitarian situation,” Pope Francis tweeted on Saturday.
“Fighting and shelling in the Macaulay area is a very serious concern. We call for an immediate end to the conflict and the restoration of peace in Tigris, “tweeted Tibor Nagy, the top US diplomat for Africa.
As the Ethiopian forces advanced, Major General Hassan Ibrahim warned that “it is possible that some wanted people may go to their families or neighboring areas and try to hide for a few days. But our armed forces … One by one, these criminals will be tasked with hunting and capturing. “
The United Nations continues to seek immediate and uncontrolled seek access to aid.
“Once we make sure there are no security threats, the humanitarian corridor will be approved in a few days,” Zadig, the democratization minister, told the AP. To restore communication with Tigre, “it depends on what kind of damage he considers.”
Asked about allowing an independent investigation into the alleged abuse during the fight, Zidig replied, “We have nothing to hide.”
“One of the reforms we introduced was transparency. But it depends on the situation, “he said.
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The minister rejected the idea that Ethiopia had been left with “serious wounds like any other” from the conflict, and expressed confidence in the prime minister’s ability to restore normalcy.
“He is a very effective leader when it comes to making peace.”
But the conflict has exacerbated tensions in the country as the former TPLF-dominated government has been formed on ethnic lines for more than a quarter-century in power. The massacre reported in the same community, Mai-Kadra, during the recent fighting, raised concerns about what else would be revealed.
Refugees fleeing Abia’s targets are welcome to return, although many have reported being attacked by Ethiopian troops and are now struggling to find food, shelter and care in remote parts of Sudan.
On Saturday, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi visited the Umm Rakouba camp in Sudan, which has about 10,000 refugees. He said about $ 150 million is needed over the next six months.
Worryingly, the refugees told the AP that the Ethiopian army near the border was preventing people from leaving. AP reporters have seen the crossings slow in recent days. The Ethiopian government has not commented.
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“We have seen a decline in population but have continued. Five to 600 per day is no small figure, let’s not make a mistake. It is true that there were days when they were thousands, but it also depends on the difficulty of moving around their country and border, ”Grandi said.
Reaching Tigre was “the main obstacle at the moment,” he said, urging the Abyssinian government to “provide us with corridors, or whatever they call assistance.”
