Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed vowed Wednesday to repel attacks by Ethiopia’s “enemies” after rebels in Tigray launched a fresh offensive, casting doubt on a government-declared ceasefire in the war-torn region.
Tigrayan forces this week claimed a series of battlefield gains in a renewed assault that comes two weeks after the federal government declared a unilateral ceasefire in the face of rebel advances.
Abiy, a winner of the Nobel Prize, said the government chose peace at a “cost” in the hope it would quell fighting, allow farmers to plant harvest, and facilitate aid into the stricken region.
But Ethiopia’s enemies were “unable to rest without conflict” and posed a threat that must be curbed, he said, signalling a possible end to the June 28 ceasefire.
“We will defend and repel these attacks by our internal and external enemies, while working to speed up humanitarian efforts,” Abiy said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Abiy, who won by a landslide in June elections to secure a five-year term, urged Ethiopians to stand behind the army in defence of the nation and resist “outside pressure and internal provocation”. The 44-year-old leader sent troops into Tigray last November after accusing the region’s once-dominant ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), of orchestrating attacks on Ethiopian military bases.
Abiy quickly declared victory but in June the rebels recaptured Mekele, the regional capital, in a stunning reversal in an eight-month conflict that has killed thousands of people and pushed the region to the brink of famine.
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Source: EWN
