2024 RT Amination Banner.gif

China Daily

News> World> Content
Thursday, November 26, 2020, 11:44
Ethiopia to begin 'final phase' of offensive in Tigray region, PM says
By Xinhua
Thursday, November 26, 2020, 11:44 By Xinhua

A member of the Amhara Special Forces looks on as he holds his rifle at the 5th Battalion of the Northern Command of the Ethiopian Army in Dansha, Ethiopia, on November 25, 2020. (EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP)

ADDIS ABABA/NAIROBI/UNITED NATIONS - The Ethiopian military will begin the “final phase” of an offensive in the rebellious northern Tigray region, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Thursday, hours after an ultimatum for Tigray forces to surrender expired.

The government gave the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) 72 hours on Sunday to lay down their arms or face an assault on Mekelle, the regional capital of 500,000 people.

The government gave the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) 72 hours on Sunday to lay down their arms or face an assault on Mekelle, the regional capital of 500,000 people

Rights groups raised concerns for civilians caught up in military operations.

Reuters was not immediately able to reach the TPLF for comment. Claims by all sides have been impossible to verify because phone and internet connections to the region are down and access to the area is tightly controlled.

“The 72-hour period granted to the criminal TPLF clique to surrender peacefully is now over and our law enforcement campaign has reached its final stage,” Abiy tweeted, adding that civilians would be spared and that thousands of fighters had already surrendered. The TPLF has denied its fighters are surrendering.

“The last peaceful gate which remained open for the TPLF clique to walk through has now been firmly closed,” Abiy said.

READ MORE: Ethiopia says Tigray capital encircled after surrender ultimatum

Abiy, who won the Nobel peace prize last year for ending a long-running stand-off with Eritrea, called on the people of Mekelle to “disarm, stay at home and stay away from military targets”.

“Our National Defence Forces have carefully devised a strategy to bring the TPLF criminal clique to justice without harming innocent civilians, heritage sites, places of worship, development institutions and property,” he added.

The conflict pits Ethiopia’s federal government against the TPLF, which dominated the country until Abiy took power two years ago. Tigrayans make up about 6 percent of Ethiopia’s population.

Abiy accuses Tigrayan leaders of starting hostilities by attacking federal troops. The rebels say his government has marginalized Tigrayans.

On Wednesday, UN humanitarians said the violence and insecurity are reported spreading in Ethiopia beyond the conflict-torn Tigray region as people flee Mekelle.

ALSO READ: Ethiopia's Tigray forces claim battle win, global alarm grows

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it has been receiving reports of the worsening situation "after the relocation of security forces to Tigray, with several reports of clashes and attacks in other places."

Nearly 42,000 people already have fled Ethiopia into Sudan, the humanitarian office said in a release.

Also, more than 95,000 people are estimated to be newly displaced in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNP), following clashes reported last week, OCHA said. Food, water and shelter are urgently needed in the region. Most of the displaced people are in open spaces after public buildings, schools and facilities reportedly were burned in recent violence.

The SNNP region is in Ethiopia's south, separated from the northernmost Tigray region by other regional states.

"We are worried about this," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters in a regular briefing. "Our humanitarian colleagues are already trying to deal with the situation involving people fleeing from Mekelle and our worries (are) that the situation could get worse."

READ MORE: Foreign powers press Ethiopia for peace talks over Tigray

Share this story

CHINA DAILY
HONG KONG NEWS
OPEN
Please click in the upper right corner to open it in your browser !