Ethiopia Urges International Community to Condemn Tigray Rebels, Ambassador Tells Sputnik
11:19 GMT 04.09.2022 (Updated: 11:37 GMT 23.11.2022)
© AP Photo / Hussein Malla
Subscribe
MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - The international community must convince the rebels of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) to accept the terms of the peace treaty agreed upon with the Ethiopian government, Ethiopian ambassador to Moscow Alemayehu Tegenu told Sputnik on Sunday.
Last month, the TPLF, a paramilitary group designated as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government, accused Addis Ababa of attacking their positions in the Amhara region. Ethiopian authorities denied the accusations, blaming the TPFL forces for resuming fighting and attacking first.
"The international community must recognize full scale gravity of TPLF's invasion of the Amhara and Afar regions and act without delay. The international community must not embolden the TPLF with soft stands and with equivocal course. The international community must recognize the government's commitment to peace and support its repeated calls for the TPLF to stop hostilities. The international community have to pressure TPLF to accept the peace declared by the Ethiopian government," the ambassador said.
The diplomat also said that the new round of escalation in the conflict between the government and the rebels will likely continue, but the Ethiopian government is committed to peace negotiations.
"This crisis is not for one day, they [the TPLF] are trying to expand the conflict to the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar. Th government is committed to protect the civilians," the ambassador added.
Tegenu also urged the rebels to return to respecting the peace treaty previously signed with the Ethiopian government.
"It is only possible to resolve this problem through peace talks. We know how war is damaging. The best thing to benefit the region is peace talks," the diplomat stressed.
The Ethiopian ambassador also called for the international community, particularly UNICEF, to condemn the involvement of children in hostilities.
"They mobilize the whole community, among this there are a lot of children below 15 years-old. this mobilization is not acceptable. The international community, especially UNICEF, have to condemn these actions, but still didn't," the ambassador added.
The diplomat said that the Ethiopian government continues the delivery of humanitarian aid to the regions of the country that need help, including Tigray, and urges the international community to support its efforts. He also added that there are other regions in Ethiopia that require humanitarian aid, with the deliveries going as planned.
The ambassador also said that agricultural activities across the country are successfully completed with the end of the rainy season, adding that in a year or two the country intends to start exporting wheat abroad.
Ethiopia has experienced violent internal conflict since November 2020, when the central government accused the TPLF of attacking a military base and subsequently launched an anti-terrorist operation in the region.
In June 2021, the rebels of the TPLF seized the city of Mekelle, the administrative regional center of Tigray, and the government declared an unconditional ceasefire. However, the rebels launched a new offensive soon after and took control of the southern part of Tigray and the neighboring Amhara region.
The ongoing conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced millions of people and caused a dire humanitarian crisis in the country. The humanitarian situation has been worsened by recent drought conditions in the region.
