Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is at the front, where he is leading the government forces “counter-offensive” against rebels from the Tigray region who are threatening to take the capital, Addis Ababa, official media said on Wednesday.
Several countries and organizations have called on their own to leave Ethiopia, where diplomatic efforts by the international community have so far failed to secure a ceasefire, after more than a year of conflict. marked by the specter of famine.
Mr Ahmed, Nobel Peace Prize 2019, “is now leading the counteroffensive” and “leading the battlefield since yesterday,” Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported, saying that in Addis Ababa, Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen, now manages “current affairs”.
It was not possible on Wednesday to know the exact whereabouts of the prime minister, a former army radio operator turned lieutenant colonel. Fana did not broadcast images of him on the pitch.
Returning from a new mission in Addis Ababa, the US envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, on Tuesday reported “nascent progress” towards a diplomatic settlement of the conflict. But he warned that the military “escalation” risked making them futile.
The war started in Tigray in November 2020, when Mr. Ahmed sent the federal army there to remove the authorities from the Tigray Liberation Front (TPLF), who challenged his authority and accused him of ‘attacking military bases.
Mr. Ahmed proclaimed victory three weeks later, after the capture of the regional capital, Mekele. But in June, the TPLF retook most of Tigray and continued its offensive in the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar.
This week, the TPLF claimed to control Shewa Robit, a municipality 220 km northeast of Addis Ababa.
An Olympic medalist as a rookie
On Wednesday, hundreds of new army recruits, urged by Ahmed to “join the survival campaign,” according to Fana, attended a ceremony in Addis Ababa.
“I was amazed when I heard” that the prime minister wanted to join the soldiers on the ground, Tesfaye Sherefa, a 42-year-old driver who was among the conscripts, told AFP.
“When a leader leaves […] his throne is to save his country. His goal is not to live, but to save his country, and I cried when he said “follow me” and went to the front line. “
Among those who have vowed to fight is marathon runner and Olympic medalist Feyisa Lilesa, who said the rebel advance represented a “great opportunity” to defend the country.
“When a country is desecrated, it’s impossible for me not to move and just watch,” he told another official media outlet, Ethiopian BC.
At the Rio Games in 2016, Mr. Feyisa made the headlines by crossing the finish line of the marathon with his arms raised and crossed – a gesture of solidarity with his people, the Oromo people, whose demonstrations against power, then long in the hands of the TPLF, underwent strong repression.
Exodus
The government continues to claim that the progress of the TPLF is exaggerated, denouncing sensationalist media coverage and security recommendations from embassies deemed alarmist.
The UN expressed concern on Wednesday after hearing reports of large-scale population displacements in western Tigray. Washington has already warned against ethnic cleansing in the region.
These movements would be made from an area bordering Sudan and Eritrea, said the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees. Zonal authorities in Tigray reported 8,000 new arrivals, possibly as many as 20,000, but these figures could not be confirmed immediately.
London on Wednesday called on its nationals to leave Ethiopia “immediately”, citing a rapid “deterioration” of the situation.
France, Italy, Germany, Ireland and the United States have made similar calls. Washington, London and the European Union have also withdrawn their non-essential personnel, while the UN will evacuate the families of its foreign employees by Thursday.
Separately, Ireland announced on Wednesday that Ethiopia had asked four of its diplomats to leave the country by next week.
The Foreign Office said the move stemmed “from the positions Ireland has expressed internationally. […] on the conflict and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia ”.
For its part, Paris called on Wednesday for the establishment of a ceasefire and a “political dialogue” between belligerents in the country.