United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary Di Carlo warned on Monday of the possibility of a “humanitarian catastrophe” due to the conflict in Ethiopia.
He said on Twitter that the conflict “consumes the future of the country . Its repercussions will be disastrous and aggravate the numerous crises in the region.”
DiCarlo added that “the risk of Ethiopia slipping in a growing civil war is quite real. “
This happens in coinciding with the announcement by the Liberation Army commander Oromo, allied with the Tigray Liberation Front, that his forces are close to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and are preparing for another attack, expecting war end “very soon” with their victory.
Jal Maru, commander of the Oromo Liberation Army, warned Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that pro-government fighters are deserting, indicating they are on the verge of victory.
He also added that “the government is just trying to buy time and trying to provoke a civil war in this country, so it is asking the nation to fight. “
“bloodbath”
The rebels in the Tigray region have denied the possibility of a “bloodbath” in Addis Ababa if they entered to overthrow the government, stressing that their goal is not to control the capital and that its residents “do not oppose. strongly to them “.
For its part, several countries have invited their citizens to leave Ethiopia in one moment in where the conflict between the rebels and government forces in the north of the country is intensifying. On Saturday, the US government ordered its non-essential diplomats to leave Ethiopia.
After announcing last weekend that they have recaptured two strategic cities 400 km from the capital, the fighters of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and their allies in the Oromo Liberation Army are not ruling out advancing towards Addis Ababa.
The government, for its part, has denied any advance by the rebels or threats to the capital. However, a state of emergency was declared and the Addis Ababa authorities asked the residents to organize themselves to defend the city.
Interestingly, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front controlled the political and security apparatus in Ethiopia for almost thirty years, after taking control of Addis Ababa and overthrowing the Marxist military regime represented by the “Provisional Military Administrative Council” in 1991.
Abi Ahmed, who was appointed prime minister in 2018, removed the front from power and questlast retreated to his Tigray stronghold.
But after months of bickering, Abiy Ahmed sent the army to Tigray in November 2020 to expel the regional authorities of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which he accused of attacking military bases.
He declared his victory on November 28th. But in June, front fighters recaptured much of Tigray and continued their offensive in neighboring Afar and Amhara regions.
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