UNITED NATIONS, US
United Nations chief Antonio
Guterres warned Monday that the situation in Ethiopia was "spiralling out
of control" as fighting raged in the north of the country and the
government vowed to seize control of airports and other sites in Tigray.United Nations chief Antonio Guterres
International alarm has been
mounting over the upsurge in combat in Tigray, where Ethiopian forces and
troops from neighbouring Eritrea have stepped up an offensive near the city of
Shire.
"The situation in
Ethiopia is spiralling out of control. Violence and destruction have reached
alarming levels," Guterres told reporters at the United Nations.
"Hostilities in the
Tigray region of Ethiopia must end now," he said, also calling for the
"immediate withdrawal and disengagement" of Eritrean forces.
The EU and US also issued
urgent appeals for a halt to the fighting, following on the heels of a call
from the African Union for an immediate and unconditional truce.
Since the war began almost two
years ago between federal forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front
(TPLF), untold numbers of civilians have been killed, two million people have
been driven from their homes and millions more are in need of aid.
AU Commission chair Moussa
Faki Mahamat on Sunday urged the rivals to "recommit to dialogue"
after both sides accepted an invitation to peace talks in South Africa that
later failed to take place.
Fighting resumed between the
warring sides in August, shattering a five-month truce that had allowed limited
amounts of aid into Tigray, with both sides blaming the other for firing first.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's
government said in a statement Monday it was "committed to the peaceful
resolution of the conflict through the AU-led peace talks," without
addressing the ceasefire call.
But it said it would also
pursue "defensive measures" to protect Ethiopia's sovereignty and
territorial integrity from internal and external threats, accusing the TPLF of
colluding with unnamed "hostile foreign powers".
"It is thus imperative
that the Government of Ethiopia assumes immediate control of all airports,
other federal facilities, and installations in the region."
The authorities in Tigray had
said Sunday they were "ready to abide by an immediate cessation of
hostilities" and called on the international community to press the
government to come to the table.
Reacting to the GCS statement,
TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda told AFP in a message: "It's a clear
indication that the government and its ally will do everything to carry through
their genocidal intent against the people of Tigray."
Tigray and its six million
people are virtually cut off from the outside world, facing dire shortages of
fuel, food and medicines and lacking basic services such as communications,
electricity and banking.
Civilian casualties have been
reported in heavy shelling as Ethiopian and Eritrean troops wage an offensive
near Shire, a city of about 100,000 people that lies about 140 kilometres (90
miles) from Tigray's capital Mekele.
The International Rescue
Committee said one of its aid workers was among three civilians killed in an
attack in Shire on Friday while delivering humanitarian aid to women and
children.
The US State Department urged
Ethiopia and Eritrea to immediately halt their offensive, also calling for
Eritrea to withdraw and for Tigrayan rebels to "cease any additional
provocations".
"We continue to be deeply
concerned over the reports of increasing violence, the loss of life, the
indiscriminate targeting of civilians," spokesman Vedant Patel told
reporters.
EU foreign policy chief Josep
Borrell issued a similar plea, saying in a statement he "deplores the
dramatic escalation of violence and the irreparable cost to human life".
US aid chief Samantha Power on
Sunday warned "the risk of additional atrocities and loss of life is
intensifying" around Shire, and accused Ethiopian and Eritrean forces of
indiscriminate attacks.
Britain's minister for Africa,
Gillian Keegan, said on Twitter she was "appalled" by Friday's
attack, lamenting that it was the 24th aid worker killed in Tigray since the
start of the conflict.
Addis Ababa said it
"deeply regrets any harm that might have been inflicted on civilians,
including humanitarian personnel", adding it would investigate such
incidents.
UN investigators have accused
all parties to the conflict of atrocities that could amount to war crimes or
crimes against humanity.
Access to northern Ethiopia is
restricted for journalists, making it often impossible to verify the situation
on the ground.
Abiy, who won the Nobel Peace
Prize in 2019 for his rapprochement with Eritrea, sent troops into Tigray in
November 2020 after accusing the TPLF of attacking federal army camps.
The TPLF had dominated
Ethiopia's ruling political alliance for decades before Abiy took power in 2018
and sidelined the party.
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