Ethiopia: Prime Minister issues 72-hour ultimatum to Tigray leaders

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed gave this Sunday 72 hours to the leaders of the dissident region of Tigray, the target of a military offensive and threatened with a "

"

assault

, to lay down their arms.

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Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2019, Abiy Ahmed launched this operation on November 4, accusing officials of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), in power in this northern region of the country, of seeking to destabilize the federal government and to have attacked two Ethiopian military bases in the region, which the Tigrayan authorities deny.

"

" Abiy Ahmed wrote in a statement to leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) which runs the region.

“

”he added.

The Ethiopian army had previously warned of an imminent attack on Mekele, the capital of Tigray and seat of the local government that the federal government seeks to dislodge, calling on civilians to flee while there is still time.

"

" army spokesman Dejene Tsegaye told government media.

"

Bitter fights

"

This spokesperson added to the attention of the half-million inhabitants: “

”.

The leader of the TPLF, Debretsion Gebremichael, responded on Sunday by promising to deliver "

" to slow the advance of the Ethiopian army.

“

” he told AFP.

He also warned that an attack on Mekele would not mark the end of the conflict: "

".

On Saturday, the government said the army was advancing towards Mekele and had taken control of several towns, including Aksum and Adigrat, some 117 km north of the regional capital.

"

" a government agency, Ethiopia State of Emergency Fact Check, said on Sunday.

Region cut off from the world

None of the assertions of either side can be verified from an independent source, as Tigray is virtually cut off from the world.

The TPLF assured this Saturday that civilians had been killed during an "

" of Adigrat by the Ethiopian army.

The government says the military operation does not target civilians.

No precise record of the fighting, which has killed at least hundreds of people since November 4, is available from an independent source.

But more than 36,000 Ethiopians have already reached Sudan, according to the Sudan Refugee Commission.

So far, the two camps have not responded to calls for de-escalation from the international community, worried about the risks of destabilization in the Horn of Africa.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for "

" to help the population trapped in the fighting.

Eritrea targeted

The Addis Ababa military operation crossed the country's borders, with TPLF rocket attacks in the north targeting the Eritrean capital Asmara.

The TPLF accuses the Eritrean authorities of letting the forces in Addis Ababa use its territory and the Eritrean army of helping them in the fighting in Tigray.

After having dominated for 15 years the armed struggle in Ethiopia against the military-Marxist regime of the Derg, overthrown in 1991, the TPLF controlled with an iron fist for nearly three decades the political and security apparatus of the country, before d 'being gradually sidelined by Abiy Ahmed since he became prime minister in 2018.

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Its officials have taken refuge in their stronghold in Tigray, from where they have challenged the authority of the federal government in recent months.

Several months of tensions culminated with the organization in Tigray of a vote described as "

" by the federal government and the refusal of the TPLF to let a general of the federal army take office in Tigray.