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Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s prime minister, has strongly rejected efforts by international powers to end hostilities in the north of the country.
Abiy Declaration Wednesday arrived just hours before the deadline for the surrender of the leadership of the troubled Tigray region expires, after which federal troops have been ordered to attack their capital.
There are increasing calls for mediation to stop a conflict that threatens to destabilize a swath of East Africa. Hundreds, possibly thousands of people have died so far and many more have been forced to flee their homes.
The leader of the Tigray Popular Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party in the region, said Tuesday that his people were “ready to die” defending their homeland, rejecting the prime minister’s demand on Sunday night that they depose weapons in 72 hours. .
Ahmed launched the military campaign against the TPLF on November 4, accusing it of attacking federal military camps in the northern region and trying to destabilize the country.
The 44-year-old leader, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, said the TPLF had orchestrated “a series of violent attacks” in Ethiopia to “thwart the democratization process.”
“A fundamental element of the international legal order is the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of sovereign states … We respectfully urge the international community to refrain from any act of undesirable and illegal interference,” Abiy said.
In his first year in office after coming to power in 2018, Abiy released thousands of political prisoners and pushed through a series of reforms. Some of these were reversed in their second year, amid increased political and ethnic tension.
Officials in Addis Ababa, the capital, describe the offensive in Tigray as a “law enforcement operation” with the aim of eliminating “traitorous” rebel leaders and restoring central authority. The TPLF says it is defending its legitimate rights under Ethiopia’s decentralized constitutional system.
The federal army has told reporters that its forces are 37 miles (60 kilometers) from Mekelle, the capital of Tigray and headquarters of the TPLF.
The army has threatened a “merciless” assault on the city, warning civilians to distance themselves from the TPLF and leave while they can. The threat has sparked global concern, and human rights activists say it could violate international legal codes.
Abiy has urged the people of Mekelle to side with the national army against the TPLF “to bring this traitorous group to justice.”
TPLF officials have denied that Mekelle is surrounded and spokesman Getachew Reda said that a major army unit, which he named the 21st Mechanized Division, was destroyed in an assault on Raya-Wajirat led by a former commander of that unit who now fight for the TPLF. The prime minister’s spokeswoman, Billene Seyoum, denied the claim.
However, the clash appears to have taken place between 15 and 20 miles (25-35 km) from Mekelle, suggesting that federal troops have advanced a considerable distance toward Tigray from the border with neighboring Amhara province, from where the Most of his forces left two weeks ago. .
By invoking the principle of non-intervention, Ahmed hopes to rally the support of other African countries and reject mounting pressure from the United Nations, the United States, the EU and other powers for a ceasefire, analysts said.
The UN security council scheduled, canceled and then rescheduled its first meeting to discuss the situation on Tuesday as African and European nations discussed holding a debate.
The EU, which is a major aid donor to Ethiopia, also expressed concern about the “increase in violence directed against ethnic groups, the many victims and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law”.
African Union President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has endorsed the dispatch of three high-level envoys to Ethiopia, an initiative praised by the UN for its “efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict” but appears to have lost. impulse.
Officials in Addis Ababa have said that no envoy would be able to meet with the TPLF leadership.
Ethiopia has long been a lynchpin of US policy in the fragile East Africa region, and so far Washington has supported Abiy.
Tibor Nagy, the US undersecretary for African Affairs, told reporters last week: “This is not about two sovereign states fighting. This is a faction of the government that leads a region that has decided to launch hostilities against the central government ”.
But nevertheless, Jake Sullivan, Designated National Security Advisor to President-Elect Joe Biden, It said on Wednesday it was “deeply concerned about the risk of violence against civilians, including possible war crimes, in the fighting around Mekelle in Ethiopia” and called for an immediate start of the dialogue between the two sides facilitated by the African Union.
A communications blackout in the region has made claims on both sides difficult to verify.
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