Tens of thousands people in Addis Ababa on Sunday joined a pro-government protest to blast Western media for broadcasting “fake news” overstating rebel gains and urging the US to “stop meddling in internal affairs”.
They also urged the international media including CNN, Reuters and others to stop fake news regarding the ongoing situation in the country.
Among the placards carried by demonstrators, few say: “Stop meddling in Ethiopia’s internal affairs”, “No More”, “I don’t forget the day the terrorist TPLF attacked the Army, I am part of the national army”, among others.
Mayor of the Ethiopian capital Adanech Abebe said in a speech that Ethiopia’s foes were trying to “terrorize our population”.
“They say Addis Ababa is surrounded, but Addis Ababa is only surrounded by its incredible people, by its vigilant, heroic children,” she said.
APA learned that several Addis Ababa residents do not fear the rebel forces namely the Tigray People and Liberation Front (TPLF) and OLF- Shene believing that the national army would destroy them.
Rebels from the TPLF and their allies have been locked in a year-long war with the government that has killed thousands and pushed many more into desperate conditions in the east African nation.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, sent troops into Tigray in November last year to take down the TPLF, accusing them of attacking military bases.
Last week, TPLF and their allies claimed several victories in recent weeks, taking towns some 400 kilometres from the capital.
The rebel forces, however, suffered defeats this week at various fronts and reached to the point where they would not be a threat to national security.
The protesters also called on the international community to denounce the renegade group and support Ethiopia in preserving its unity and territorial integrity.
MG/abj/APA