The Prime Minister’s Office in Addis Ababa has confirmed the displacement of over 300,000 civilians from Afar and Amhara regions in the north of the country thanks to the military incursion by the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
In a briefing on Thursday the office’s Press Secretary, Billene Seyoum said the rebel force has continued killing civilians and causing displacement of more than 300,000 civilians, largely farmers.
The TPLF force has blocked aid routes from Afar to Djibouti but blamed the Ethiopian government for the exercise.
Despite the worsening situation in the adjacent regions, the federal government has not yet called off the unilateral humanitarian ceasefire it declared at the end of June 2021.
Billene said that the government has been focusing on ensuring unfettered access to the Tigray region for humanitarian aid delivery.
The Ethiopian government accused the TPLF of launching a media campaign of deception about the situation in the north.
Another point the press secretary referred to was the mounting pressure on Ethiopia to open a “humanitarian corridor” from Sudan to Tigray.
The argument made by the Ethiopian government was that the Djibouti-Mekelle route is by far shorter than the intended route via Sudan.
Despite reports, the rebel force has yet not raided the historic city of Lalibela – a UNESCO heritage site where there are more than 12 rock-hewn churches (dug from the ground) built in the 12th century.
MG/as/APA