Ethiopia’s House of Peoples Representatives, in its 13th regular session on Thursday, approved a resolution passed by the Council of Ministers last week to designate the outlawed Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and rebel Shene and as terrorist organizations.
The House approved the resolution with a majority of vote with only one abstention.
The resolution provides the government absolute right to impeach individuals and organizations that allegedly finance, consult and assist the now designated terrorist organization in different ways, legal expert Paulos Tessema told APA.
The House listed the two as terrorist organizations due to “their arming, training, and financing other violent elements in addition to engaging in attacks themselves”.
In a recent statement, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed blamed some government officials for having links with the rebel forces that were blamed for a series of massacre of civilians in different parts of the country.
On November 3, TPLF forces attacked the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, killing soldiers as they slept and looting military hardware, prompting the federal government to launch what it called a sweeping law enforcement operation.
On November 28, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared completion of the military offensive after the fall of the regional capital Mekele to the federal army.
TPLF was at the head of a four-party coalition with the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front that ruled the Horn of Africa nation with a heavy hand for 27 years.
MG/as/APA