taken on November 10, 2020, Amhara militia men, that combat
alongside federal and regional forces against the northern region
of Tigray receive training in the outskirts of the village of Addis
Zemen, north of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. AFP
Ethiopia said Saturday that forces loyal to the ruling
party in the northern Tigray region had fired into neighbouring
Amhara region, raising fears that ongoing fighting could draw in
other parts of the country.
The allegation came as thousands of Ethiopians continued to
cross the border into Sudan and aid workers pleaded for access to
Tigray, where intense fighting has sparked fears of a devastating
conflict in Africa’s second-most populous country.
“In the late hours of Nov. 13, 2020, a rocket was fired towards
Bahir Dar & Gondar cities. As a result, the airport areas have
sustained damages,” an Ethiopian government statement said.
“The TPLF junta is utilising the last of the weaponry within its
arsenals,” the statement said, referring to the Tigray People’s
Liberation Front, the Tigray ruling party.
TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael told AFP Saturday he did not
have information about the reported attacks but noted that TPLF
leaders have said: “any airport used to attack Tigray will be a
legitimate target”.
The airports in both Bahir Dar, the regional capital, and in
Gondar are used by both military and civilian aircraft.
Residents reported hearing gunfire in both cities Friday night,
though an Amhara regional government statement said “the situation
was controlled within a few minutes” and “our cities are in
peace”.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last week launched military
operations in Tigray, saying the move was provoked by TPLF attacks
on federal military camps in the region — a claim the TPLF
denies.
Hundreds of people are reported to have been killed, some in a
gruesome massacre reported by Amnesty International, and thousands
have fled fighting and airstrikes in Tigray, whose leaders Abiy
accuses of seeking to destabilise the country.
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Tigray has been under a communications blackout since the
operation began, making it difficult to verify claims from both
camps about the situation on the ground.
Military officials have vowed to keep the conflict contained in
Tigray, and Abiy has repeatedly promised a quick, decisive
victory.
But Amhara and Tigray are embroiled in long-running disputes
over land along their shared border that analysts worry could draw
Amhara into the conflict.
Thousands of Amhara militiamen have already headed towards
Tigray to fight alongside federal forces, according to Amhara
security officials.
Both Bahir Dar and Gondar were calm Saturday morning, residents
said.
One resident of Bahir Dar told AFP there were “two heavy
explosions around 10:50 pm”.
“After that, there was gunfire for 15 minutes, and then it went
quiet,” the resident said.
‘Extreme urgency’
As of Friday evening, at least 21,000 Ethiopians had fled across
the border into Sudan, according to Sudan’s refugee agency.
They have described walking many kilometres in the baking heat
to flee intense bombardments they say have been carried out by the
Ethiopian army.
Meanwhile, Tigray leader Debretsion has said hundreds of
thousands of people are displaced within the region, where the
United Nations is lobbying for full humanitarian access.
Catherine Sozi, the UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator
in Ethiopia, made her plea directly during a reception Friday
evening for Demeke Mekonnen, Ethiopia’s new foreign minister.
“Things are getting rather hard,” Sozi said during a
question-and-answer session, citing the communications blackout,
road closures, and shortages of water, fuel and cash.
She later told AFP there was “extreme urgency” for aid workers
to get full access.
“We can’t reach the people we need to provide services to,” she
said.
“We’re concerned that every hour, every day that the conflict
continues, the most vulnerable people become even more
vulnerable.”
Bitter feud
Abiy, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, on Friday declared
the TPLF was in the “throes of death”, but Debretsion dismissed
this as a “daydream”.
The TPLF dominated Ethiopia politics for nearly three decades
before Abiy took office in 2018 on the back of several years of
anti-government protests.
Since then, the TPLF has complained of being sidelined and
scapegoated for the country’s woes.
The feud grew more bitter after Tigray went ahead with its own
elections in September — defying a nationwide ban on all polls
imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic — and tried to brand
Abiy an illegitimate ruler.
AFP
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