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The Ethiopian army’s offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the area has been going on for three weeks and thousands have lost their lives.
On Saturday, SVT reported that some 30 Swedish citizens are missing in Tigray.
– We are working hard to locate these people, says Hans Henric Lundqvist, Swedish ambassador in Addis Ababa, to the television channel.
The Norwegian Foreign Ministry later informed VG that Norwegians are also in the conflict-affected region.
– The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware that there are a small number of Norwegians in Tigray. The embassy in Addis Ababa works with the EU and the UN and continuously monitors exit opportunities from Tigray, spokesperson Guri Solberg tells the newspaper.
VISITED: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, visited Ethiopian refugees in the Umm Rakouba camp in eastern Sudan on Saturday. Photo: Nariman El-Mofty / AP / NTB
– It’s finished
On Saturday night, Ethiopia’s prime minister says the offensive is over.
– I am pleased to announce that we have completed and completed the military operation in Tigray, the prime minister wrote in a Twitter message on Saturday night.
Ethiopian Chief of Staff Birhanu Jula told Ethiopian broadcasters on Saturday that the army is in control of the city. According to Abiy, it happened “without civilians being targeted.”
However, the messages leave a series of questions about how the situation is now in Tigray and what has really happened to TPLF and its leaders, since there are few observers in the area and communication lines are blocked.
– I’m very concerned about Mekelle’s reports of fights. Like the international community, especially the African Union, Norway urges the parties to exercise restraint and protect civilians. Respect for international humanitarian law is essential in this situation. The conflict must be resolved and peace restored in Tigray, Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide (H) said on Saturday night.
Artillery
Neither the army nor the prime minister have so far mentioned arrests of any of the TPLF leaders, nor figures on the dead or wounded.
The first reports that the expected attack on the city with around half a million inhabitants was underway came early Saturday. Ethiopian government forces have surrounded the city and the Ethiopian government ordered the army to attack on Thursday.
The Ethiopian army has started firing heavy artillery in the center of Mekele, local authorities said on Saturday, and humanitarian organizations working in the city reported the same. Tigray TV also reported shooting.
The Ethiopian government had warned civilians in the city that they would show no mercy if they did not distance themselves from the TPLF leaders in time. The Prime Minister, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, has completely rejected dialogue with the TPLF.
The offensive and the threat to the civilian population have sounded the alarm in the international community. Already more than 43,000 refugees have sought refuge across the border in Sudan.
The Ethiopian government assured that it will avoid injuring civilians in the attack, which was led by tanks.
A group of women and children who have managed to flee Tigray are sitting together at Umm Rakouba camp in Sudan. Photo: Nariman El-Mofty / AP / NTB
Various crises
Abiy announced the military offensive earlier this month after a TPLF attack on a military base. Since then, fighting has broken out and there are fears that the situation could destabilize Ethiopia.
Since Tigray’s supply lines were cut, people in the area are running out of food and other necessities. The UN has called for immediate and unhindered access to bring emergency aid to the province.
Several crises are growing at the same time. In Sudan, the authorities are struggling to care for tens of thousands of refugees and set up camps for them. According to a humanitarian organization, Tigray hospitals are running out of medicines.
At the same time, fighting in the vicinity of refugee camps hosting Eritrean refugees in northern Ethiopia has also led this group to end up in the line of fire.
Lack of money
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, on Saturday visited the Umm Rakouba refugee camp in Sudan, which is home to about 10,000. It says $ 150 million is needed over the next six months for Sudan to cope with the influx of refugees.
Refugees in Sudan also say Ethiopian forces near the border are preventing people from leaving the country. In recent days, the number of people who have managed to take over has dropped dramatically. The Ethiopian authorities have not commented on the situation.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has so far refused to negotiate with the TPLF, preferring to crush them militarily. A delegation from the AU was unable to shake it on Friday.
Three former African presidents, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique and Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa lined up in Addis Ababa, but had to turn 180 degrees with an unsolved case.
