UPDATE 1: Ethiopian crisis: Government announes 'defensive measures' to safeguard territorial integrity
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The Ethiopian Government on Monday announced "defensive measures" to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country because of the crisis in the north of the country where the Federal Government is engaged in a bitter war with the separatist Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
The measures announced in a statement by the Government Communication Service (GCS) said the Government has assumed "immediate control of all airports, other federal facilities, and installations in the (Tigray) region".
It said this is necessary to protect Ethiopia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, in particular as it relates to its airspace and to enable the Government to expedite humanitarian aid to people in need.
The statement asked civilians to stay away from TPLF military assets.
It said the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) endeavors to avoid combat operations within urban areas to prevent civilian casualties and strict instructions have been given to all combat units to reinforce this commitment.
“Given the TPLF’s established practice of using civilians as a human shield and civilian facilities for military purposes, the Government of Ethiopia reiterates its call for civilians and humanitarian operators to distance themselves from TPLF’s military assets.”
A statement by the Government Communication Service (GCS) said the current round of conflict started on 24 August when the TPLF carried out a full-fledged attack thus breaking the humanitarian truce that the Government of Ethiopia declared in March 2022.
This was after the Ethiopian Government announced its readiness for African Union-led peace talks without preconditions to be convened anytime and anywhere.
This, it said, was the third time that the TPLF had dragged the country into conflict in a span of two years.
The Government said the "TPLF’s massive attack was preceded by repeated and grave violations of Ethiopia’s airspace by hostile foreign actors supporting the TPLF".
The Ethiopian Government said it "deeply regrets" any harm that might have been inflicted upon civilians, including humanitarian personnel, adding hat it will investigate such incidents to establish facts and provide redress when and if such unintended harm occurs.
“While pursuing these objectives, the Government of Ethiopia is committed to the peaceful resolution of the conflict through the AU-led peace talks. We believe that there is a need for a comprehensive and negotiated settlement that would bring about durable peace,” said the statement.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki Mahamat, has "strongly" called for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire and the resumption of humanitarian services as fighting intensifies.
In a statement in Addis Ababa, he said he has been following with "grave concern", reports of increased fighting in the Tigray Region of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
"The Chairperson urges the Parties to recommit to dialogue as per their agreement to direct talks to be convened in South Africa by a high-level team led by the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa, and supported by the international community," the statement said.
The Tigray External Affairs Office of the TPLF said in a statement on Monday that the separatist group welcomes the AUC Chairperson's call for a ceasefire saying that it is "ready to abide by an immediate cessation of hostilities".
The TPLF also called on the international community to compel the "Eritrean army to withdraw from Tigray, take practical steps towards an immediate cessation of hostilities, and press the Ethiopian Government to come to the negotiating table".
It said: "The war that we have been forced to take part in to save our people from extermination has, due to our adversaries' flagrant disregard for basic rules and norms and genocidal intent, created a ghastly humanitarian crisis.
"The (international community) has a choice to make: either ensure an immediate cessation of hostilities or help the people of Tigray defend themselves against (a) genocidal onslaught. If neither path is followed, the people of Tigray will continue to fight to ensure their survival."
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and six Western countries - Australia, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States - are among countries and organisations that have reiterated calls for an immediate end to the fighting.
The Ethiopian government troops and separatist TPLF forces have been locked in conflict since November 2020.
-0- PANA MA 17Oct2022
