“Its leaders must deescalate immediately, ensure humanitarian access to civilians in Tigray.”
Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed released a statement on Monday to address world leaders who are becoming increasingly concerned about escalating political tensions in the country. Posting his statement on Twitter, the prime minister said the military attack he ordered in the Tigray region is aimed at bringing peace.
“Ethiopia is grateful for friends expressing their concern. Our rule of law operation is aimed at guaranteeing peace and stability once and for all by bringing perpetrators of instability to justice,” Abiy said.
Addressing the country last week, Abiy said the military operation was in response to violations from leaders in the Tigray region, who allegedly orchestrated an attack on a military base and attempted to steal military equipment. Wednesday’s airstrike destroyed heavy weapons in Tigray’s capital, Mekele, and stopped retaliatory attacks, Abiy said.
In the days following Wednesday’s attack, world leaders have expressed concerns about the potential of a civil war which could lead to further chaos in the country.
But Abiy has deflected the global apprehension.
“Concerns that Ethiopia will descend into chaos are unfounded and a result of not understanding our context deeply,” Abiy said on Monday. “Our rule of law enforcement operation, as a sovereign state with the capacity to manage its own internal affairs, will wrap up soon by ending the prevailing impunity.”
Concerns that Ethiopia will descend into chaos are unfounded & a result of not understanding our context deeply.Our rule of law enforcement operation, as a sovereign state with the capacity to manage its own internal affairs, will wrap up soon by ending the prevailing impunity2/2 pic.twitter.com/YMaRbhfFOw
— Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) November 9, 2020
The prime minister’s spokeswoman, Billene Seyoum, added to Abiy’s statement.
“Entities perpetuating a narrative of demise for a rule of law operation is not only detached from context but amounts to inciting chaos where none exists,” she said. “Conflict entrepreneurs need not be championed to gain from Ethiopia’s internal affairs.”
U.S. senator Elizabeth Warren is one of several public officials who has expressed concerns about the situation in Ethiopia.
“I am alarmed at the violence in Ethiopia. Its leaders must deescalate immediately, ensure humanitarian access to civilians in Tigray, and enter into an inclusive dialogue that protects the rights of all citizens to participate in free and fair elections,” Warren said.
I am alarmed at the violence in Ethiopia. Its leaders must deescalate immediately, ensure humanitarian access to civilians in Tigray, and enter into an inclusive dialogue that protects the rights of all citizens to participate in free and fair elections. https://t.co/Uhe4Ynb4mC
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) November 9, 2020
The issue of fair elections has been one of the factors contributing to the country’s rising tensions in recent months. According to the Associated Press, the dispute escalated in September when the Tigray People’s Liberation Front held an unauthorized local election, defying the federal government.
The British Embassy in Ethiopia joined the call for peace last week, saying “we urge all sides to keep civilians safe.”
Pope Francis also went to Twitter to share his worries.
“I am following with concern the news arriving from Ethiopia,” he said. “While I urge that the temptation of an armed conflict be rejected, I invite everyone to prayer and to fraternal respect, to dialogue and to a peaceful end to the disagreements.
According to The New York Times, the United Nations said the government has blocked airspace and roads in the area of the conflict, making it difficult for people in the region to access humanitarian relief. About nine million people are at “high risk” of being affected by the violence, “which could potentially lead to massive displacements within and outside of Ethiopia”, the UN stated.
Sajjad Mohammad, the head of the United Nations’ humanitarian office in Ethiopia, said the region was already suffering from bread and fuel shortages before the conflict.
“There are almost two million people who receive some kind of humanitarian aid in Tigray,” Mohammad told The Times. “If supply lines close, that number could grow even further.”
With internet and telephone networks in Tigray also blocked, families around the world are unable to reach their loved ones.
“I can’t call my family and check if they’re okay or what is happening. There is no way of knowing what is happening in Tigray!” a Twitter user wrote.
Journalist Thomas van Linge said “the radio silence surrounding is very concerning.”
“There are reports of dozens of soldiers killed yet there are no announcements, no footage of fighting, no journalists on the ground,” he wrote. “This war is being fought in the dark.”
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