U.S. Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman said Tuesday that . Progress to push all sides of the Ethiopian conflict The negotiations for a ceasefire risk a “worrying” military escalation.
Feltman briefed reporters in Washington after returning from Ethiopia on Monday, where he met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and discussed a possible diplomatic solution to the conflict.
Feltman said the Ethiopian Prime Minister and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front appear to believe both are on the verge of a military victory, expressing concern that developments on the ground threaten Ethiopia’s stability and unity. in general.
He added that progress has been made regarding “the attempt to push the parties to move from military confrontation to the negotiation process, but what worries us is that this fragile progress may be overcome by worrying developments on the ground that threaten stability and the unity of Ethiopia “. generally.”
Feltman said the two sides in conflict are talking to the United States to initiate a process pace. He added that although he discussed a diplomatic solution during his meeting with Abiy on his last trip to the country, the Ethiopian leader expressed confidence that he would be in able to achieve its goals militarily.
Evacuation of families of international personnel from Ethiopia
In the context, the United Nations intends to evacuate the families of international personnel from Ethiopia by Thursday, while France has invited its citizens to leave the country, in the north of which for more than a year there has been a war between government forces and rebels. year.
In an internal document issued on Monday, the United Nations security services asked the organization to “coordinate evacuations and ensure that all family members of suitable international personnel leave Ethiopia no later than 25 November 2021”.
Several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have urged their citizens to leave Ethiopia, as the international community is not yet in able to obtain a ceasefire.
“All French citizens are officially invited to leave the country as soon as possible,” said the French embassy in Addis Ababa. in an e-mail sent to French citizens.
The French embassy has indicated that it has taken this decision in light of “the evolution of the military situation”, and seeks to facilitate the departure of citizens by reserving them seats on commercial flights, and will organize itself, “in case of need, “a charter flight, according to the email.
According to the French embassy, ​​more than 1,000 French people reside in Ethiopia.
A French embassy official did not rule out “the voluntary departures of embassy employees, especially those with families”.
On November 2, the Ethiopian federal government declared a six-month state of emergency in throughout the country and invited the inhabitants of Addis Ababa to organize their ranks and prepare to defend their city in the light of growing fears for the advance of the Liberation of the people of Tigray Front fighters and their allies towards the capital.
However, authorities say at the same time that claims of military progress and an imminent threat to Addis Ababa from rebels are exaggerated.
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