Ethiopia conflict: Leave Mekelle now, military warns civilians
. You will pay for every move, Tigray leader boasts as AU’s peace moves fail
Photo: The Tigray city of Mekelle
Ethiopia’s military have warned civilians in the capital of the wartorn Tigray region to “free themselves” from rebel leaders or be offered “no mercy” in a coming assault on the city.
The Ethiopian military said tanks would be deployed to encircle Mekelle, the highland capital of the northern Tigray region, and that it may also use artillery on the city, state media reported on Sunday.
The ultimatum will deepen international concerns as the conflict goes into its third week without any sign that hostilities will cease soon.
Ethiopian forces are advancing steadily from the north and south towards Mekelle, which lies on a plateau at an altitude of more than 2,500 metres.
Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people have been killed in the conflict so far and many more have been displaced. More than 36,000 have fled into neighbouring Sudan, and large numbers are on the move within Tigray to avoid the fighting.
The warning to the half million inhabitants of Mekelle may prompt many to abandon their homes, adding to the growing humanitarian crisis.
“The next phases are the decisive part of the operation, which is to encircle Mekelle using tanks, finishing the battle on mountainous areas and advancing to the fields,” Col Dejene Tsegaye told the state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation.
Tsegaye said the Ethiopian military had so far avoided any targets that might risk civilian casualties but said that in the case of Mekelle “it might be different”.
“We want to send a message to the public in Mekelle to save themselves from any artillery attacks and free themselves from junta,” he said, referring to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party in the region. “The junta is now shielding itself within the public and the public must isolate itself from the junta. After that, there will no mercy.”
Redwan Hussein, a spokesman for the government’s taskforce on Tigray, said there was still time for the TPLF leadership to surrender. “The government will take maximum restraint not to cause major risks for civilians,” he added.
Debretsion Gebremichael, the leader of the TPLF, promised “fierce fighting” that would make federal forces “pay for every move”, and warned that an assault on Mekelle would not be the conflict’s endgame. “As long as the occupation force is in Tigray, fighting will not stop,” he said.
Officials in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, have been clear that the “law enforcement operation” will continue until the TPLF is ousted and federal authority reasserted over the region.
On Saturday, the Ethiopian government rebuffed an African diplomatic push to mediate.
Last week, Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian prime minister, said government forces were preparing for a “final push” on Mekelle to end the conflict within days.
.Story courtesy of The Guardian of London
