[ad_1]
FILE PHOTO: Girls carry dirty laundry in the town of Soroka in the Amhara region near the border with Tigray, Ethiopia, on November 9, 2020. REUTERS / Tiksa Negeri reuters_tickers
This content was published on Nov 12, 2020 – 09:57
By Giulia Paravicini
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s military has defeated local forces in western Tigray state, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Thursday, accusing his enemies of committing atrocities during a week of fighting that threatens to destabilize the Horn of Africa.
Airstrikes and ground combat have killed hundreds, sent refugees to Sudan, stirred Ethiopia’s ethnic divisions and raised questions about the credentials of Abiy, the youngest leader in Africa to win a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.
“The western region of Tigray has been liberated,” tweeted Abiy, 44, who hails from the largest ethnic group, the Oromo and who once fought with the Tigrayans against neighboring Eritrea.
“In those liberated areas, the army is now providing humanitarian assistance and services. It is also feeding the people,” he added.
With communications disrupted, transportation blocked, and means prohibited, independent verification of the status of the conflict was impossible. There was no immediate response from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which rules the northern mountainous state of more than 5 million people.
Abiy accuses the TPLF of starting the conflict by attacking a federal military base and challenging its authority, while the Tigrayans say their two-year government has persecuted them.
Abiy said that some of his soldiers had been found dead in the city of Sheraro, shot with their legs and arms tied behind their backs. “This kind of cruelty is heartbreaking and the goal is to destroy Ethiopia,” he said.
Abiy did not say how many bodies were found or provide evidence in her Twitter comments in the local Amharic language.
Reuters could not verify his accusation and there was no immediate response from the TPLF, which has also accused federal troops of being “ruthless” in bombing the Tigrayans.
HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY LOOM
More than 10,000 Ethiopian refugees have crossed into Sudan since the fighting began, and aid agencies say the situation in Tigray appears to be getting worse. Even before the conflict, 600,000 people were dependent on food aid.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said aid agencies were unable to resupply food, health and other emergency supplies in Tigray due to lack of access.
“Reportedly, a commodity shortage is emerging, hitting the most vulnerable first and foremost,” he said.
The representative of the United Nations refugee agency in Ethiopia, Ann Encontre, told Reuters that negotiations were underway with both sides to open humanitarian corridors.
A “major emergency” may be brewing with so many people fleeing to Sudan, he warned.
Abiy has so far resisted calls from the United Nations, the African Union and others for a ceasefire and talks.
His army chief of staff Birhanu Jula was quoted by state broadcaster Fana as saying that the Northern Command of federal troops had withstood a five-day siege and was now taking back many locations, including Dansha, Humera Airport and Baeker.
“I would like to thank these members of the military for being a model for our heroic defense force and its persistent battle while deprived of food and water for four or five days,” he said, accusing the TPLF of using people as a human shield. .
There was no immediate response to that accusation.
The regional state of Amhara, neighboring Tigray and which has been supporting Abiy, canceled planned demonstrations against the ruling Tigray party. “The protest is not timely due to current security concerns,” the state communications office said.
(Reported by Giulia Paravicini in Addis Ababa, Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum, Nazanine Moshiri in Nairobi; written by Duncan Miriri; edited by Andrew Cawthorne)
