The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat has described the offensive or what the Ethiopian government called a “law enforcement operation’ in its Tigray region as ‘legitimate’.
The AUC chairperson made the remark while addressing the 38th IGAD Extraordinary Summit of Heads of States and Governments held in Djibouti on Sunday.
Late last month, the government of Ethiopia claimed victory after it took control of Mekele, Tigray’s regional capital after three weeks of fighting forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) which administered the region for nearly three decades.
“In Ethiopia, the federal government took bold steps to preserve the unity, stability and respect for the constitutional order of the country,” Mahamat said.
Heads of state from Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Djibouti – among others – were present during the summit, and the regional body seem to have backed the federal government’s military operation in the Tigray region.
However the AU chairperson lamented the humanitarian challenges that the law enforcement operation has caused, and he encouraged members of IGAD to support Ethiopia to address the problem.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed gratitude for the clarity that IGAD has regarding Ethiopia’s military operation in the north which is said to have been completed following the capture of Mekele although the hunt for TPLF leaders who are on the run continues.
“I express my deepest gratitude to IGAD leaders for understanding and acknowledging our law enforcement measures as legal and legitimate, as well as for expressing commitment to supporting Ethiopia,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed wrote on his social media page on Sunday.
Ethiopia has been under pressure from the international community including the European Union media outlets to deescalate its military operation and allow humanitarian work in areas where people are in desperate need of relief.
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MG/as/APA