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Addis Ababa (AFP)
Various mediations appear to be taking shape on Monday to end the conflict that has raged since November 4 between the Ethiopian army and rebel forces in the Tigray region, after the weekend witnessed a dangerous escalation.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which controls this region of northern Ethiopia, fired several “missiles” on Saturday at Asmara, the capital of neighboring Eritrea, accusing the authorities of militarily supporting the Ethiopian army in the Tigray region.
This comes a day after the “Tigray People’s Liberation Front” also launched “missiles” at two airports in the neighboring Ethiopian region of Amhara.
This escalation out of Tigray reinforces fears that the war will escalate into an uncontrollable conflict in Ethiopia and destabilize the entire Horn of Africa region.
Sanya Suri, an expert on East Africa with the Economic Information Unit, said that in addition to the “great” loss of life, this conflict “will lead to a wave of migration and internal displacement that may pose a threat to the stability of the region.” .
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has indicated that he expects large numbers of refugees to flee to neighboring Sudan, where 25,000 Ethiopians have so far arrived.
“There must be negotiations and the conflict ends,” said Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni after receiving Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demiki Mekonnen Hassan in Gulu, northern Uganda.
On the eve of the meeting, government officials told AFP that Museveni would meet with representatives of the government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front on Monday to begin mediation.
However, at the present time, each of the two sides denies participating in any dialogue with the other and no information was leaked on Monday about the possible presence of a TPLF delegation in Uganda.
On Monday, the Ethiopian government’s crisis cell described “the information … that Ethiopian officials will participate in mediation with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front in Uganda” as “false”.
Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry told France-Presse on Sunday that it is “not aware” of the minister’s visit to Uganda, and the Tigray president said Monday that he was “unaware of this initiative by Uganda.”
– “Ethiopia will triumph” –
In parallel, the Ethiopian government and the Addis Ababa-based African Union told AFP on Monday that they had no information about a possible mediation mission by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
His spokesman, Kehinde Akemi, told AFP he was “on his way” to Addis Ababa on Monday for “talks” as part of a “mediation mission”.
But “the federal (Ethiopian) government will not consider any negotiations with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front until after the Tigray militia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front completely surrender,” according to Suri.
And he added, “The federal government will not make important concessions” in any case.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abyei Ahmed, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, affirmed that Ethiopia “will prevail” and noted that the military operations that began on November 4 in Tigray after months of tension with the People’s Liberation Front of Tigray (TPLF) who challenge his authority “are making progress in some way.” good”.
The government, which says it already controls the western region of Tigray, which borders Sudan, announced Sunday control of the city of Alamata, 180 km south of the regional capital, Mikkeli.
However, it is difficult to be certain, due to the communication cuts in Tigray and the restrictions imposed on the movement of journalists.
And Abyei recently confirmed that talks will not begin until the Tigray authorities are completely disarmed.
On Monday, the upper house of the Ethiopian parliament criticized the calls for dialogue, because the government and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray “are not on an equal footing from a legal and moral point of view.”
“The TPLF violated the constitution and violated the constitutional order. The federal government is only working to replace it,” he said in a statement.
The Tigray Popular Liberation Front dominated political life in Ethiopia for almost three decades, before Abyei gradually marginalized it since taking office in 2018.
The tension, which lasted for several months, reached a climax with the Tigray region organizing its own elections that the federal government called “illegal” and the refusal of the Tigray Liberation Front to allow a Federal Army officer to take office. position in the region.
By dispatching the army to Tigray, Abyei is seen as responding to attacks launched by RUF forces on two military bases in the area.
© 2020 AFP
