The New Zealand Herald

Alarm sounds as tensions rise in Ethiopia

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Alarm spiralled yesterday over Ethiopia’s imminent tank attack on the capital of the defiant Tigray region and its population of half a million people.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council met for the first time on the threeweek-old conflict amid warnings that food in the region is running out.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s 72-hour ultimatum for the region’s leaders to surrender ends today.

His military has warned civilians of “no mercy” if they don’t move away in time — which some rights groups and diplomats say could violate internatio­nal law.

“The highly aggressive rhetoric on both sides regarding the fight for Mekele is dangerousl­y provocativ­e and risks placing already vulnerable and frightened civilians in grave danger,” United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said.

The allegation that Tigray leaders were hiding among civilians “does not then give the Ethiopians state carte blanche to respond with the use of artillery in densely populated areas.”

A year before taking power in Ethiopia and introducin­g reforms to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Abiy successful­ly defended a PhD thesis in conflict resolution.

Now he sits in Africa’s diplomatic capital, home of the African Union, and rejects calls for dialogue.

Meanwhile, a powerful voice in diplomatic efforts, the United States, is in disarray as the Trump administra­tion focuses on internal politics after losing the election — and after President Donald Trump infuriated Ethiopia with comments on a separate issue this year.

The diplomatic vacuum has brought Ethiopia, one of Africa’s most powerful and populous countries, to what Amnesty Internatio­nal calls “the brink of a deadly escalation”.

Just ahead of the assault on Mekele, the UN Security Council met behind closed doors yesterday to discuss the situation in Ethiopia for the first time. Members expressed support for the new AU-led envoy effort, one council diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Over the weekend, the current AU chairman, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, backed three highlevel envoys, an initiative the UN chief quickly praised for “efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict”.

But in an unusually public disagreeme­nt, Ethiopia said the envoys would meet Abiy and not Tigray leaders. Abiy’s government insists the leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front are criminals on the run.

The TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s government for more than a quartercen­tury, but was sidelined after Abiy took office in 2018 and sought to centralise power in a country long ruled along ethnic lines. The TPLF opted out when Abiy dissolved the ruling coalition, then infuriated the federal government by holding an election in September.

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 ?? Photo / AP ?? Tigray refugees are now in Sudan.
Photo / AP Tigray refugees are now in Sudan.

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