Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed affirmed, on Sunday, that the Federal Government is capable of ending the insurgent in the country’s northern Tigray region.
In a statement, the Ethiopia Prime Minister office stressed that the Tigray military operation will continue to apprehend the “criminal elements” within the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), especially after one of the Front’s leaders has admitted attacking the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF).
About two weeks ago, the Ethiopian government announced a military offensive against the TPLF, after an army base was taken over by the Front’s forces. The attack resulted in many killings and injuries, as well as damage to property.
The latest tensions between the former allies came after the region’s local elections in September, which violated a federal decision to halt such events. Addis Ababa did not recognise the elections’ results.
Ahmed’s office said that the ENDF made further advances, liberated and took over various areas within the region. The federal forces announced that they have found evidence of crimes against humanity committed by the TPLF against civilians in Mykadra.
Ethiopian government called on the international community to support “its efforts to bring the perpetrators of such gruesome crimes to justice.”
Meanwhile, the restive region’s president, Debretsion Gebremichael, said that the TPLF is fighting both Ethiopian and Eritrean troops. Eretria is the closest neighbouring country to the Tigray region.
On Saturday, the TPLF forces fired rockets at an airport in Eritrea’s capital Asmara.
Debretsion said in a statement to Reuters that 16 divisions of the Eritrean army have been fighting against the TPLF in the past few days. Eritrea’s government denied any involvement in the Ethiopian-Ethiopian conflict.
Debretsion previously expressed readiness to start negotiations with the federal authorities and to stop the fighting, but the Ethiopian Prime Minister rejected any talks with the front. He also rejected a Sudanese mediation, according to Sudanese media. Sudan has received thousands of Tigray residents who flee the armed conflict.
