In Ethiopia, despite a ceasefire offered by rebels in the Tigray region, there is no end in sight to the fighting. The capital of the region in the north of the country, Mekele, was attacked from the air, said a spokesman for the ruling People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). An armed drone attacked the university campus. According to the hospital, at least one person was injured.
The central government in Addis Ababa has so far made no statement. An independent verification is hardly possible since access to the Ethiopian north is strictly limited. A news blackout was imposed on the area more than a year ago.
No reply from Addis Ababa
The TPLF, which does not recognize Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s powers, on Sunday agreed to an African Union-led peace process. This includes a ceasefire. The central government, while saying it was open to talks without preconditions, did not respond to the rebels’ offer to stop the fighting.
Also read: The Tigray Conflict: Questions and Answers
The armed conflict escalated in November 2020 with an offensive by the Ethiopian army in Tigray. The TPLF, which governs there, had previously repeatedly questioned the authority of the leadership in Addis Ababa. Until Abiy’s election as Prime Minister in 2018, the TPLF was the dominant force in the state as a whole.
According to the United Nations, thousands of people have been killed and more than two million displaced since the fighting began. The UN accuses all parties to the conflict of serious human rights violations. There is a famine in parts of Tigray.
jj/as (afp, rtr)
