UN warns of ‘grave danger’ in Ethiopia
ALARM has spiralled over Ethiopia’s imminent tank attack on the capital of the Tigray region, with the United Nations among organisations warning of the “grave danger” faced by civilians.
Prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s 72-hour ultimatum for the region’s leaders to surrender ends today.
His military has warned civilians there will be “no mercy” if they don’t move away from the leaders in time – which some human rights groups and diplomats say could violate international law.
Michelle Bachelet, UN high commissioner for human rights, said: “The highly aggressive rhetoric on both sides regarding the fight for (Tigray capital) Mekele is dangerously provocative and risks placing already vulnerable and frightened civilians in grave danger.” She said the claim that Tigray leaders were hiding among civilians “does not then give the Ethiopian 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, Mr Abiy successfully defended a PhD thesis in conflict resolution. Now he sits in Africa’s diplomatic capital and rejects calls for dialogue.
Meanwhile, a powerful voice in efforts for dialogue, the United States, is in disarray as the Trump administration remains focused on internal politics after losing the November election. 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” at the heart of the strategic Horn of Africa.
With time running out, the UN Security Council is reportedly meeting to discuss the situation. However, efforts by the UN secretarygeneral, the African Union, the European Union and others have been turned aside.
In an unusually public disagreement, the current AU chair, South
African president Cyril Ramaphosa, backed three high-level envoys for Ethiopia. Although the UN chief praised the initiative for “efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict”, Ethiopia said envoys would meet with Mr Abiy and not the Tigray leaders. The snub comes as Ethiopian government continues to insist the leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) are criminals. The armed TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s government for more than a 25 years. It was side-lined after Mr Abiy took office in 2018 and sought to centralise power.
The TPLF infuriated Mr Abiy by holding an election in September despite national polls being postponed due to the pandemic. Each side now regards the other as illegal. Meanwhile, hundreds if not thousands of people have been killed, nearly 40,000 people have fled into Sudan and the UN says two million people in the sealed-off Tigray region urgently need help as food and medical supplies run out.