Gebremichael
The leader of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region said on
Friday it was a “daydream” to think federal forces would soon
prevail in the escalating conflict, warning of large-scale
displacement and civilian casualties.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of last year’s Nobel Peace
Prize, ordered military operations in Tigray last week.
He said he was responding to attacks on two federal military
camps by the region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation
Front (TPLF) — accusations the party denies.
A communications blackout in Tigray has made it difficult to
verify competing claims on the ground, but Abiy on Thursday vowed
to deliver a decisive win “in a relatively short period of
time”.
“This is a daydream, just a daydream,” Tigrayan leader
Debretsion Gebremichael told AFP Friday when asked about Abiy’s
comments.
“We are proud people who can defend ourselves. This is a burial
ground for invaders.”
There are mounting worries about how Tigray’s population is
faring after intensified fighting and several rounds of airstrikes
that Abiy’s government says targeted fuel and weapons depots.
The United Nations on Thursday called for Ethiopia to provide
full humanitarian access to Tigray and enable civilians to leave
safely.
While thousands have already crossed the border into
neighbouring Sudan, Debretsion said hundreds of thousands had been
displaced within Tigray.
He also said civilians had been killed in government airstrikes
in Mekele, the regional capital, and in the city of Adigrat close
to the border with Eritrea.
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These incidents could not be independently verified, nor could
Debretsion’s claim — denied by the central government — that forces
from neighbouring Eritrea have been involved in the fighting.
“People are running in every corner. So the most important
consequence of the conflict currently is displacement. Of course,
there are casualties, but we don’t have the numbers. This is too
big to manage,” Debretsion said.
On Thursday Amnesty International said scores — possibly
hundreds — of civilians had been killed in a “massacre” in Tigray
that witnesses blamed on forces backing the TPLF.
“This is baseless. It cannot be related to us,” Debretsion said
of the Amnesty report.
“We have our values, we have our norms. We know how to handle
people.”
Ethiopian state media reported on Thursday night that an arrest
warrant had been issued for Debretsion and other TPLF leaders.
On Friday Abiy’s office announced the appointment of Mulu Nega,
an education official, as chief executive of a caretaker
administration Abiy’s government intends to set up in Tigray.
-AFP