[ad_1]
- In view of the fighting in Ethiopia, the EU Commission sees the stability of the entire country and the Tigray region at risk.
- The EU commissioner for crisis management calls on the Ethiopian government to allow aid organizations in Tigray province.
- A week ago, the central government launched a military offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
Little is known about the local situation. Telephone and Internet connections are down. According to the UN refugee agency, the roads were blocked and the electricity supply cut off. The risk of violence spreading is very real, according to the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic. “I fear that this crisis will have catastrophic humanitarian consequences for the entire country.”
Even before the crisis, around three million people in Tigray and 15 million people across the country were dependent on humanitarian aid, the EU commissioner said. He also referred to the 100,000 refugees that Ethiopia had hosted. Lenarcic called on the Ethiopian government to grant aid organizations access to the Tigray region. “Fast and unconditional access is urgently needed.”
In a joint communication, the EU Foreign Affairs representative, Josep Borrell, and Lenarcic declared that an immediate de-escalation was necessary. All parties must exercise restraint and reiterate their calls to avoid incitement to hatred and violence.
Sudan could also destabilize
Ethiopia expert from the Berlin Science and Policy Foundation, Annette Weber, told the Germany RND publishing network: “If the conflict spreads regionally, it would also lead to large waves of migration to Europe.” Among other things, there is a risk that neighboring Sudan will destabilize again. “All observers in the region are very nervous.” No one assumes that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali can win the war.
International humanitarian workers had previously warned of a humanitarian catastrophe. “Tigray is cut off from all supply routes,” Matthias Späth, Welthungerhilfe’s country director in Ethiopia, told the German news agency. According to this, there are at least 600,000 chronically malnourished people in the northern region of Ethiopia. Like the rest of the population, the helpers are now unable to reach them. One can only speculate where the heavy fighting would take place and where auxiliary corridors could be established, Späth said.
A week ago, after months of tensions with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the Ethiopian government launched an offensive against the rebel group and ruling party of Tigray.
The conflict has been around for a long time
The TPLF was the dominant party in the coalition of parties that ruled Ethiopia with a heavy hand for more than 25 years. But when Abiy came to power in 2018, he reformed many of the old guard and founded a new party. The TPLF and many people in Tigray do not feel represented by the central government and would like more autonomy. Under Abiy, who received the Nobel Peace Prize last year, ethnic conflicts in the multi-ethnic state of Ethiopia, with its around 112 million inhabitants, have increased.
