(Addis Ababa) The Tigrayan rebels swept aside fears of a “bloodbath” in Addis Ababa if they were to enter the Ethiopian capital to overthrow the government of Abiy Ahmed, believing that the population is not “fiercely” to them opposite ”.
Several countries have called on their nationals to leave Ethiopia in recent days and the US government on Saturday ordered the departure of its non-essential personnel, as the year-long conflict between rebels and government forces in the north of the country has escalated. .
After claiming last weekend the capture of two strategic towns 400 km from the capital, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), did not excluded from walking on Addis Ababa.
The government has denied any major rebel advance and any threat to the capital. However, he declared a state of emergency and authorities in Addis Ababa asked residents to organize to defend the city.
On Sunday, tens of thousands of people gathered in Meskel Square in support of the government and vowed the loss of the Tigrayan rebels.
But for TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda, “to say that the people of Addis are fiercely opposed to us is totally exaggerated,” he said in an interview with AFP.
“Addis is a melting pot. People with all kinds of interests live there. To say that Addis will turn into a bloodbath if we enter is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t think this assumption […] be credible, ”he said.
Self-determination
For the TPLF, the capital is not “an objective”: “We are not particularly interested in Addis Ababa, we want to make sure that Abiy no longer represents a threat to our Tigrayan people” (6% of the Ethiopian population ).
But if the prime minister doesn’t leave, “of course” the rebels will take the city, Getachew Reda added.
According to him, they progressed towards the south and “approaching Ataye”, 270 kilometers north of the capital, as well as towards the east towards Mile, located on the road to Djibouti crucial for the supply of supplies. Addis Ababa.
The TPLF ensures that it does not want to take over the reins of the country, which it held with an iron fist between 1991 and 2018.
“We are not interested,” said Getachew Reda: “We just want to make sure that the voice of our people is heard, that they exercise their right to self-determination including by holding a referendum to decide whether they should stay. Ethiopia member or become independent ”.
The TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s political and security structures for 27 years, after taking Addis Ababa and overthrowing the military-Marxist Derg regime in 1991.
Removed from power by Abiy Ahmed, appointed prime minister in 2018 after a long anti-government dispute, he retreated to his stronghold in Tigray, the northernmost region of Ethiopia.
After months of tension, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner sent the army to Tigray in November 2020 to remove regional authorities from the TPLF, who challenged his authority and accused him of attacking military bases.
He proclaimed victory on November 28. But in June, pro-TPLF fighters recaptured most of the region and then advanced into neighboring Afar and Amhara regions.
TPLF “in hell”
In Addis Ababa’s Meskel Square, hostility to the TPLF was displayed on Sunday, during a pro-government rally.
Mayor Adanech Abebe accused “the enemies” of Ethiopia of wanting to “terrorize” the population and attacked the American government of Joe Biden, which was very critical of the conflict.
“We will not sacrifice our freedom”, she said, “the place of the TPLF is in hell”.
Protesters held up placards urging the United States to “stop sucking our blood” or targeting Western media accused of spreading “fake news” about the rebel advance.
For Kebede Hailu, the rebels will not dare to come because “the army can destroy them”. This clothing salesman rejects any discussion with “terrorists”: “They must be buried and annihilated”.
The international community has been working to bring the belligerents to the negotiating table, unsuccessfully for a year.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths and African Union High Representative for the Horn of Africa Olusegun Obasanjo were in the Tigrayan capital Mekele on Sunday to meet with officials , including TPLF chief Debretsion Gebremichael, according to corroborating sources.
From Rome, Pope Francis said he was following “with concern the situation in the country, and renewed his call for” the peaceful path of dialogue “.