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Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called on the international community to refrain from interfering in what his government sees as a police operation against the forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the ruling party of one of the 11 states. self-employed in the country.
Restoring his administration’s willingness to abide by international law, Abiy urged the international community to resist “any undesirable and illegal act of interference,” citing the United Nations letter of non-intervention.
It was the latest move to reject calls for Ethiopia to negotiate a possible ceasefire and mediation with the TPLF, which it accuses of “treason” for allegedly attacking a military base and assassinations of soldiers that ultimately led to its military action.
Many members of the international community, including the current US government and the incoming Biden administration, African and European unions and others, have called on both sides to lay down their arms and have called on the Ethiopian government to resolve your disputes with the TPLF through dialogue.
Tensions between the federal government and Tigray’s ruling TPLF party have been mounting in the two years since Abiy came to power. But they increased when the Tigray state held regional elections even after Addis Ababa suspended national elections due to the coronavirus pandemic. The country’s Chamber of Federation, the upper house of parliament, subsequently banned the elections and described them as “null and void,” but the TPLF, which won, ignored the federal government and moved on.
Things came to a head after an attack allegedly carried out by Tigray forces against the national army, the situation escalated to a deadly armed forced confrontation, followed by an air strike. The prime minister, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for ending the conflict with Eritrea, now insists international concerns about the escalating conflict are the result of observers not having a deep understanding of the context of his country.
Humanitarian crisis
Thousands of Ethiopians in the Tigray region have already been displaced and are crossing the border into Sudan in search of safety. The United Nations and other world bodies have already recognized the current situation as a humanitarian crisis.
Ethiopia has now embarked on what it calls the third and final phase of its law enforcement operation in Tigray, right after a claimed victory in Adigrat and Aksum, as well as other key cities, and remains in the suburbs of Mekele. , while the army awaits an imminent instruction to enter the capital of the region, after a 72-hour warning for a large part of the TPLF leadership to surrender to the authorities.
There is a real risk that the upcoming battle will turn especially bloody after Getachew Reda, a spokesman for the Tigray Special Forces, said that civilians living in Mekele, Tigray’s largest city, will be armed with all those who They are ready to fight to protect the region from the incoming national army. . The federal government has stated that it will be able to take control of Mekele in the coming days with minimal damage and casualties.
Hotels, schools, health facilities and airports have already suffered severe damage since the outbreak of clashes between Ethiopian National Army forces and the TPLF, according to the national government.
And there is not enough accommodation capacity to meet the growing needs, says the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The number of Ethiopian refugees migrating to eastern Sudan has reached more than 40,000 since the first signs of battle in early November. They have been fleeing ongoing fighting in the Tigray region that escalated over the past weekend, according to UNHCR, which faces logistical challenges due to growing humanitarian needs.
But the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has accused authorities in the city of Maikadra in the Tigray region of helping an informal group of young people, called Samri, who have allegedly massacred more than 600 people.
The commission’s investigators visited the cities of Maikadra, Abrhajira, Sanja, Dansha, Humera and Gonder between November 14 and 19 and their preliminary findings state that “what happened in Maikadra on November 9, including the murders and The injuries, as well as the destruction that lasted during the night, clearly indicate the commission of serious human rights violations that may constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes ”.
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