Washington (agencies)
Yesterday, the United States warned that there is “no military solution” to the conflict in Ethiopia, and that diplomacy is the “first, last and only option” to stop the civil war in the African country, after Addis Ababa announced that its Prime Minister Abi Ahmed went to the front to lead government forces. In its fight against rebels from the northern Tigray region.
“There is no military solution to the conflict in Ethiopia, and our goal is to support diplomacy as the first, last and only option,” a US State Department spokesperson said.
“We urge all parties to refrain from inflammatory and hostile rhetoric, to exercise restraint, respect human rights, allow humanitarian access, and protect civilians,” he added.
“We have seen reports that Prime Minister Abyei is today on the front lines, and those that quoted high-ranking Ethiopian athletes, parliamentarians, party and regional leaders as saying that they, in turn, will join the prime minister on the front lines,” the US spokesman continued.
The US position came in response to the Ethiopian official media’s announcement that Abi Ahmed, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner, went to the front line last Tuesday, and is “currently leading the counterattack” to repel the rebels advancing towards the capital.
According to the Ethiopian official media, the statement published by Abi Ahmed on Monday, in which he announced his intention to go to the front, “inspired many to join the steadfastness campaign.”
Yesterday, hundreds of new recruits participated in a ceremony in their honor in the Kulfi district of Addis Ababa. Among those who have pledged to fight is Olympic sprinter Fiesa Lilisa.
Despite mobilizing the population to fight the rebels, Abiy Ahmed’s government insists that reports of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and its allies making advances on the ground are exaggerated.
The US warning came at a time when the international community’s diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire between government forces and the rebels failed.
The battles in Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa, have left thousands dead and put hundreds of thousands at risk of starvation, according to the United Nations.
The war erupted in the fall of last year when the federal government sent its forces to Tigray to overthrow the regional authorities emanating from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, after Abi Ahmed accused the regional forces of attacking federal army positions.
In the wake of fierce battles, the Ethiopian government declared victory on November 28, but in June the fighters of the front regained control of the greater part of Tigray before advancing towards the neighboring regions of Afar and Amhara.
It allied itself with other rebel groups such as the Oromo Liberation Army, which is active in the Oromia region surrounding Addis Ababa.
This week, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front announced the control of Shewa Rubet, 220 km northeast of Addis Ababa, by land.
Yesterday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued an urgent appeal to the parties to the conflict in Ethiopia for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to save the country, stressing that a ceasefire should allow for a dialogue between the Ethiopians to resolve the crisis and allow Ethiopia to contribute once other in the stability of the region. Guterres, speaking in Bogota, the capital of Colombia, urged leaders in Ethiopia to follow the example of the Colombian peace process.
“The peace process in Colombia inspires me to make an urgent call to the supporters of the conflict in Ethiopia for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” Guterres said in statements with Colombian President Ivan Duque.
Guterres visited Colombia to commemorate the five-year anniversary of the peace agreement between the government and the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels.
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