WHO chief Ghebreyesus anxious about family's whereabouts amid worsening Ethiopian conflict

The World Health Organisation chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on December 28 spoke about his personal pain over the worsening conflict in his home country of Ethiopia. While speaking at a news conference, Tedros said that the year 2020 has been “very difficult” for him. He also said that he did not know the whereabouts of many of his family members, including his younger brother. 

"2020 has been very difficult for me because my country is in trouble. My country Ethiopia is in trouble and the devastating war that is happening in home region Tigray… I have many relatives there, including my younger brother, I don’t know where they are, I haven’t communicated with them," the Director-General of the WHO said. He added, "As if Covid is not enough I have that personal pain also. I worry about my country."

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Back in November, the Ethiopian military had also accused Tedros of trying to get weapons for the TPLF. However, Tedros, who has served in the government when it was dominated by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), denied the allegations. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian forces have been battling the TPLF in the region since early November. The government had said that it is in control of Tigray and the conflict is over. However, the TPLF said they are still fighting on various fronts. 

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'Full command' of Tigray

Earlier this month, the Ethiopian government said that it was returning Eritrean refugees who had fled to the capital Addis Ababa from camps in Tigray. According to BBC, almost 100,000 Eritrean refugees have been living in camps in Tigray. They had fled political persecution and compulsory military service, long before the current conflict. The government informed that a large number of misinformed refugees are moving out in an irregular manner. They added that the government is safely returning those refugees to their respective camps. 

The military confrontation in the region sparked after forces of the ruling TPLF party attacked a military base of the federal forces on November 4, following which, the Ethiopian army launched an offensive. On November 28, in an official announcement, Ethiopia’s army asserted that the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF's) military operations have concluded with the government's "full command" of Tigray, adding, ENDF had managed to rescue thousands of Northern Command officers held captive by TPLF and had taken control of the Northern Command camp.

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