The government of Ethiopia has claimed it has credible evidence that ‘external forces’ are supporting the rebels in the ongoing war in the north of the country.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance Dr. Eyob Tekaleg told an Indian media on Wednesday, that “external forces have engaged in a proxy war against Ethiopia by supporting the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)”.
The Tigray conflict began in November 2020 after TPLF, which had dominated Ethiopian politics before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in April 2018, conducted deadly attacks on federal army bases in the state – forcing the central government to a counter offensive.
Tekalegn described the amount of damage caused by the conflict as “very painful”.
“We have credible evidence about satellite support, armament support which is very unfortunate because the stability of Ethiopia is very important for the entire region” he said.
“Ethiopia is the icon of stability in east Africa. If Ethiopia is affected, then the rest of the East African region will be affected,”” he warned.
The Ethiopian official said the United States did not condemn the apparent commandeering of 872 aid trucks which journeyed to Tigray from other parts of Ethiopia between mid July and mid September and never returned.
He accused the TPLF forces of using the trucks to transport their fighters deep into the Amhara and Afar regions where they looted resources.
The minister refrained from mentioning the countries his government said are helping the TPLF regain power in Ethiopia.
Latest reports suggest that the rebels forces have captured more towns and are closing in on the capital Addis Ababa.
MG/as/APA