https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/08/11/ab ... -ethiopia/Abiy has called on Ethiopians to show “patriotism” as TPLF forces push further into neighboring regions.
By Colm Quinn, the newsletter writer at Foreign Policy.
AUGUST 11, 2021, 4:30 AM
Abiy Calls for Civilian Reinforcements in Tigray Conflict
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called on civilians to join the ranks of the country’s military as they battle the resurgent forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), who have taken the fight beyond their home region.
“Now is the right time for all capable Ethiopians who are of age to join the defense forces, special forces, and militias and show your patriotism,” Abiy stated on Tuesday, as he directed government forces to “halt the destruction of the treasonous and terrorist TPLF and the machinations of foreign hands once and for all.”
Washington reacts. U.S. State Department Spokesman Ned Price criticized Abiy’s comments on Tuesday, saying the “inflamed rhetoric makes it more difficult for all parties to come to the table and negotiate an end to this conflict.” His statement echoes one made by USAID administrator Samantha Power who visited the region last week in a bid to convince the Ethiopian government to allow much needed aid to reach Tigray.
Abiy’s call to arms comes amid a steady advance of TPLF forces since they retook Tigray’s capital Mekele in June in a surprise turnaround. The TPLF have since moved into the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar, seizing the strategically significant city of Woldiya on Monday.
Despite the encroachment, the TPLF has maintained its operations are purely defensive rather than a conquest. The group’s spokesman, Getachew Reda, said its advances were to break through a cordon imposed by Ethiopia’s government. Still, the TPLF has made no secret of its resolve. “We have to deal with anyone who’s still shooting,” Getachew said on Friday. “If it takes marching to Addis to silence the guns, we will. But I hope we’ll not have to.”
No backing down. Keeping with the same stance throughout the conflict, Ethiopia’s government refused another offer of mediation in the conflict last Thursday, this time from neighboring Sudan in its capacity as the current president of the IGAD East African trade bloc. Abiy rejected Sudan’s overture, citing recent incursions by Sudanese forces. Sudan recalled its ambassador on Sunday following the snub.
Humanitarian concerns. While the Ethiopian government prepares to widen its war with the TPLF, the humanitarian situation in Tigray is getting worse. A recent visit from the U.N. emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths concluded that 100 trucks a day would be needed to provide the necessary aid, far more than the 175 that have arrived to date. Meanwhile, UNICEF estimates that four million people in Tigray, Afar, and Amhara are now at “crisis or emergency” levels of food insecurity.
Abiy Ahmed’s, fake Nobel laureate's, Call to Arms
Re: Abiy Ahmed’s, fake Nobel laureate's, Call to Arms
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