Addis Ababa: With the Tigrayan rebel forces that have been fighting the government for the past year, marching towards the national capital, the Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency on Tuesday and asked citizens to pick up arms.
“All residents must be organised by blocks and neighbourhoods to protect peace and security in their home area in coordination with security forces, who will coordinate activities with community police and law enforcers,” Kenea Yadeta, chief of the city’s Peace and Security Administration Bureau, said.
The government’s move came immediately after the rebel forces captured two towns about 250 kms from Addis Ababa. The government claimed the rebels killed over 100 people in Kombolcha, about 370 kms from the national capital, in the strife-torn Amhara region on Monday November 1, 2021, that prompted the imposition of emergency.
“The state of emergency is aimed to protect civilians from atrocities being committed by the terrorist TPLF group in several parts of the country,” state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported.
There are reports of the Tigrayan forces also linked up with the Oromo fighters belonging to Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group whose Oromo Liberation Army announced on November 1, a formal alliance with the Tigrayan forces against the Government.
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President Biden charged of “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights” in Ethiopia and said that he would revoke trade privileges to Ethiopia.
The United Nations Secretary-General Antònio Guterres expressed his concerns about all of the fighting and his office said in New York that it has been in touch with officials in Ethiopia. “The Secretary‑General himself has spoken repeatedly with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to see what can be done to bring the violence to a halt and also, of course, to allow for the full‑scale return of humanitarian assistance to the places that need it, including places like Mekelle and Afar,” Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the UN Secretary‑General, said.
However, Haq disclosed that Guterres had talked with Ahmed prior to the latest round of fighting that happened over the weekend. “But we also have been in touch at various levels with the authorities in the Ethiopian Government to relay our concerns, and he had been talking about them, as we were making clear, prior to this latest round,” he said.
Guterres in a statement issued yesterday, said he was extremely concerned by the escalation of violence in Ethiopia and the recent declaration of a state of emergency. With stability of Ethiopia and the wider region at stake, he reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, unrestricted humanitarian access to deliver urgent life‑saving assistance, and an inclusive national dialogue to resolve this crisis and create the foundation for peace and stability throughout the country.
– global bihari bureau
