Nairobi, Kenya (AP) – Ethiopia’s notorious Tigre region’s fugitive leader on Monday called on Prime Minister Abiya Ahmed to “stop madness” and withdraw troops from the region as he insisted fighting two days after Abiya was “on every front”. Declared victory.
Debrecen Gabremischel said in a phone interview with the Associated Press that it was close to Macaulay, the capital of Tigris, which the Ethiopian army said on Saturday was now under its control. Absent from accepting Abi’s declaration With the victory, the Tigre leader insisted, “We are sure we will win.”
He also accused Ethiopian forces of carrying out a “genocidal campaign” against the Tigers. Even a month after the fighting broke out, since the Tigre region fell apart, no one knows how many people have been killed, and it is difficult to verify the claims of the warring parties.
Since Abe sidelined the once-dominant Tigre People’s Liberation Front since taking office in early 2018, every government has outlawed the other.
The fight is for the self-determination of a region of about a million people, the Tigre leader said and will continue until the invaders come out. He asserted that his forces had kept an indefinite number of “captives” in the Ethiopian forces, including the pilot of a fighter jet, who claimed to have fired at his side over the weekend.
The Tigre leader also insisted that his forces still had many missiles and that “we can use them whenever we want,” although he denied any involvement in the attack on the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, saying “the main objective.” He also accused Abi of collaborating with neighboring Eritrea in the invasion of Tigre, which was denied by the Ethiopian government.
Speaking of the idea of negotiations with the government, Abi has repeatedly denied anything, the Tigers leader said, “depending on the material” and that the Ethiopian army must leave the area first.
“Civilian casualties have risen sharply,” he said, although he denied the toll was estimated. He accused Ethiopian forces of “carrying out robberies wherever they go.”
“Every loss is more and more every day,” he said, calling it a collective punishment against the Tigers for their leaders’ beliefs.
The fighting has threatened to destabilize Ethiopia, Africa’s strategic horn lynchingpin and its neighbors.
“The defense forces have not killed a single person in any city,” Abiyeh told lawmakers on Monday. No nation’s army could have shown better capability than ours. But one of his own cabinet ministers, Zadig Abraha, told the AP on Saturday, “We have kept the number of civilians wounded very low.”
A spokesman said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with Abi on Monday – the first known time since the fighting began – and reiterated his serious concern about the ongoing wars and the dangers posed by the conflict. Pompeo also called for a “fight for a solution to the crisis and an end to constructive dialogue” and for humanitarian access and protection of civilians, including refugees.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres received a phone call from Abi on Sunday saying he would update him on the situation in the country. UN spokeswoman Stephanie Dujarric said.
“The Secretary-General reiterated the need for full respect for human rights, as well as the need for humanitarian access for ourselves and our humanitarian partners.” “The Secretary-General also said that Ethiopia needs a true settlement without discrimination and in a country where every community should be respected and be part of Ethiopia.”
Hospitals and health centers in the Tigris region are running “dangerously low” on supplies for the care of the injured, the International Committee of the Red Cross said. Food is also running low, resulting in the area being cut off with outside help.
In a rare report from the inside The ICRC MKRC also said that a major hospital in northern Ethiopia, Eider Referral Hospital, lacks body bags and about 80% of its patients have traumatic injuries.
The threat of widespread humanitarian catastrophe is growing. U.N. Tigre is unable to enter the field. Human rights groups and others are concerned about the atrocities that may arise once transport and other links are re-established.
About 1 million people have been displaced, including about 44,000 who have fled to Sudan. The Tigre camp, home to 96,000 Eritrean refugees, is on fire.
U.S. Refugee Chief Filippo Grandi added on Sunday that Tigre’s “we need first and foremost access” is that his UN colleagues in Addis Ababa are in discussions with the government. Abi’s government has promised a self-governing “humanitarian corridor”, but the UN has emphasized the importance of neutrality.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on Monday urged the government to quickly restore access to basic services and humanitarian aid in the Tigris region and allow an independent investigation into “serious human rights violations.” It also expressed concern about the outline of ethnic Tigris.
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