Tigray leader slams Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed over military offensive; urges ceasefire

Ethiopia’s rebellious Tigray leader Debretsion Gebremichael on Monday, November 30 castigated Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for his military offensive in the region. Gebremichael further asked Abiy to 'stop the madness' and withdraw troops from the region as he asserted that fighting continues on every front two days later after Abiy claimed victory.

In a telephonic conversation with the news agency, Associated Press Gebremichael mentioned that he lives near the Tigray capital of Mekele, which the Ethiopian army on Saturday said it now controlled. He accused the Ethiopian forces of carrying out a genocidal campaign against the Tigray people. To date, it remains unclear as to how many people have been killed in the Tigray region after the fighting began. Each government sees the other as illegal after Abiy sidelined the once-dominant Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) after taking office in early 2018.

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The fight is about the self-determination of the region

The Tigray leader maintained that the fight is about the self-determination of the region, which houses some 6 million people, and added that the struggle will continue until the invaders are out. Gebremichael further said that his forces held an undetermined number of captives among the Ethiopian forces, including the pilot of a fighter jet that his side claims to have shot down over the weekend.

The Tigray leader also disclosed that his forces still have several missiles and can use them whenever we want, though he refused a question about striking at the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, maintaining the primary aim of the fighting is to get rid of invaders in Tigray. He further slammed Abiy for collaborating with neighboring Eritrea in the offensive in Tigray, which the Ethopian government has denied.

"Civilian casualties are so high," he said, though denied having any estimate of the toll. Gebremichael accused Ethiopian forces of "looting wherever they go." "The suffering is greater and greater every day,” he said, calling it "collective punishment against the Tigray people for their belief in their leaders."

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About the Tigray conflict

The immediate conflict in the region was sparked after the ruling TPLF party, a minority party at the centre but a strong and powerful group in the region, allegedly attacked a military base of the federal forces on November 4 following which Ahmed's government launched a military offensive. 

Relations between TPLF and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had started straining after the latter announced reforms to end ethnic federalism in the country. Ahmed dissolved the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, which had ruled the country for 30 years, and created a new Prosperity Party by merging all regional parties. The creation of the Prosperity Party meant a reduction of TPLF's influence at the federal level, which prompted the powerful regional organisation to refuse to join the party. 

The relations took a drastic hit after the TPLF party held parliamentary elections in September despite the central government's decision to postpone all polls in the country due to COVID-19 concerns. 

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(With agency inputs)