Faced with the advance of rebels from Tigray, Ethiopia declares a ceasefire

Forces loyal to the former dissident authorities in Tigray entered Mekele, the capital of this region in northern Ethiopia, on Monday (June 28).

Marking a turning point in this conflict after almost eight months of fighting, the federal government has decreed a

"unilateral ceasefire"

in particular to allow the proper development of crops by the population and the distribution of humanitarian aid, according to a press release. relayed by state media in the early evening.

Read also: Ethiopia: the announced coronation of Abiy Ahmed overshadowed by the Tigray

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres considered these events

“extremely worrying”

.

"They demonstrate, once again, that there is no military solution to the crisis"

, he declared, saying that he was

"hopeful that an effective cessation of hostilities will take place"

. The United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom on Monday called for an emergency public meeting of the UN Security Council on Tigray, diplomatic sources said, adding that it could be held on Friday.

Mekele was captured by the federal army on November 28, three weeks after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched an offensive to overthrow dissident local authorities from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) which long dominated Ethiopian political life. This operation of

"maintenance of order"

had been decided after the pro-TPLF forces had attacked military bases, had justified Abiy Ahmed, Nobel Peace Prize 2019 for the reconciliation with Eritrea.

Despite the victory proclaimed after the fall of Mekele, fighting has never ceased between the pro-TPLF forces - which call themselves the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) - and the Ethiopian Federal Army, supported by troops from the authorities. neighboring regions of Amhara and the army of Eritrea, a country bordering Tigray.

The TDF launched an offensive last week, as much-needed national elections were held in much of the rest of the country, the results of which have yet to be announced.

Read also: Tigrayans no longer feel Ethiopians and dream of independence

On Monday, these rebels

"took control of the city, I saw them myself, they entered,"

a member of the interim regional administration, set up by Addis Ababa after the dismissal, told AFP. of the TPLF authorities. An AFP journalist confirmed that the troops arrived in trucks and cars. Their entry sparked scenes of jubilation, soldiers firing in the air in celebration, locals walking out into the streets waving the Tigrayan flag.

"The city is celebrating, everyone is outside dancing,"

confirmed the member of the interim administration.

“Everyone is excited, there is music in the streets. Everyone has put out their flags and the music is playing. I do not know how they got them, but everyone has fireworks, ”

detailed a resident, contacted by AFP.

Faced with the rebel advance, officials of the regional interim administration left the city on Monday, according to the administration member. Witnesses reported that federal soldiers and police were also fleeing Mekele, some looting banks and requisitioning vehicles from individuals. A UN official told AFP that the soldiers had dismantled the satellite equipment of several UN agencies in Mekele, obviously trying to reduce communications as much as possible.

“This act violates the privileges and immunity of the United Nations as well as the rules of international humanitarian law on respect for humanitarian aid goods. I condemn this action in the strongest terms

,

”

tweeted Henrietta Fore,executive director of Unicef.

Read also: After four months of war, the Tigrayans refuse to bow to Ethiopia

Tigray, Ethiopia's northernmost region on the border with Eritrea, has been in the throes of a destructive conflict for nearly eight months. Announced as brief, the military operation launched by Abiy Ahmed turned into a long-term conflict, marked by numerous accounts of abuses against civilians (massacres, rapes, population displacements, etc.) which aroused indignation. of the international community. An Ethiopian army airstrike on June 22 hit a busy market in Togoga, some 30 kilometers from Mekele, killing at least 64 and injuring 180. The Ethiopian army claimed to have targeted in this

"operation"

pro-TPLF forces dressed in civilian clothes, deeming

"unacceptable"

to claim that civilians were being targeted. The nearly eight months of fighting have placed at least 350,000 people in a situation of famine in the region, according to the UN, which the Ethiopian government disputes.