The drumbeat of war is once again sounding ominously in Ethiopia as federal troops and rebels of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front go for the slaughter, prompting plaintive calls by the African Union and the UN for a de-escalation.
Concerns expressed by the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat and UN scribed Antonio Guterres on the carnage resulting from the renewed hostilities appear to be apparently ignored by the belligerents who are once against prosecuting the conflict with renewed vigor after an uneasy and short-lived lull.
“The chairperson strongly calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities and urges the parties to resume talks to seek a peaceful solution,” the AU said in a statement issued on Wednesday evening.
Faki reiterated the AU’s continued commitment to working with the parties in support of a consensual political process in the interest of the country, the statement said.
However, both sides appear far from listening but instead trade accusations of breaching the truce which had seen hostilities die down to an uneasy halt.
The Ethiopian government accused the rebel TPLF of resuming hostilities with fresh attacks on different positions in the eastern front early on Wednesday, particularly in Bisober, Zobil and Tekulesh.
It said the move by the rebels demonstrates their belligerent stance against any propensity towards a process that would ensure lasting peace.
The TPLF, on the other hand, accused the federal forces of targeting its troops, an accusation rejected by Addis Ababa which described it as a pretext by the rebels “to continue their warmongering behavior.”
Amidst deteriorating levels of malnutrition, Ethiopia is currently witnessing the worst drought in 40 years, with 17 million people being targeted for humanitarian assistance, the UN spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Humanitarian aid flow to the Tigray region only resumed recently after the federal government and TPLF agreed to a conditional cessation of hostilities which would allow an unhindered delivery of relief for displaced people trapped in the fighting.
Since hostilities began the Ethiopian Air Force has claimed its troops have shot down a plane that had entered the country from Sudanese airspace believed to have been carrying arms bound for the rebels.
The TPLF and Khartoum with whom Addis Ababa have troubled relations since a border dispute last year have not commented.
Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, has seen a devastating conflict between federal troops and forces loyal to the TPLF since November 2020, which left millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Thousands of people both combatants and civilians are known to have died in the fighting.
MG/as/APA