Those who believe in an imminent victory of the Ethiopian federal army in Tigray "
dream awake
", assured Friday, November 13 the president of this dissident region of Ethiopia, denying the quick end, promised by the government, of the military operation launched on November 4.
Read also: Ethiopia: Amnesty says many civilians were killed in a "massacre" in Tigray
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed - 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner - promised victory "
in a relatively short time
" against the forces of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that has long led the region. from the north of the country.
This statement "
is a waking dream
", replied the President of Tigray, Debretsion Gebremichael, from Addis Ababa via a message.
“
We are proud people who can stand up for us.
(This land) is a graveyard for invaders,
”he added.
Debretsion also strongly denied the involvement of troops loyal to the TPLF in a "
massacre
" of civilians in Tigray, as testimonies reported Thursday by Amnesty International claim.
“
It's not based on anything.
It cannot be linked to us,
”he said, adding:“
we have our values, we have our rules.
We know how to treat people.
"
On the other hand, he accused the Ethiopian air force of having killed civilians during its strikes in Mekele, the regional capital, and in Adigrat, a locality close to the border with Eritrea.
He also pointed out that the fighting had displaced hundreds of thousands of people inside Tigray.
“
The most important consequence of the conflict at the moment is displacement.
Of course there are deaths, but we don't have the figures,
”he said, also accusing the army of neighboring Eritrea of being involved in the conflict, which Ethiopia denies.
The communications blackout in the region and travel restrictions for journalists make it difficult to independently verify information from each side.
An arrest warrant was issued Thursday, November 12 by the Ethiopian justice against Debretsion and 63 other people considered to "
endanger the existence
" of Ethiopia.
Abiy justifies his military intervention by the need to re-establish "
legitimate institutions
" in Tigray, where the authorities have defied the federal government for several months and after the attacks on two Ethiopian army bases on the spot that he attributed to loyal forces to the TPLF, but that it denies.
On Friday, the Prime Minister's office announced the appointment of Mulu Nega, until now Minister of Science and Higher Education, as director of a new "
provisional administration of the regional state of Tigray
".
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/VVSSPDPOMZBR5PRFFXV7LLVB3U.jpg)
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/WEFC2ARIWFCHPNOJCEPD7TZO7E.jpg)
