Tigray rebels promise to chase ‘enemies’ even if they stop fighting | Conflicting Issues

Ethiopian war-torn Tigray leaders have vowed to expel “enemies” from the region, saying the war will continue even if the federal government stops fighting.

Tigrayan troops were conducting a “mop-up” on Tuesday against Ethiopian government troops returning from the Mekelle regional capital and the city was “100%” in their hands.

“Twenty-five minutes ago the commitment to Mekelle was over,” Getachew Reda, a spokesman for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), told Reuters by telephone. “Our troops continue to chase the south, the east.”

A spokesman for the prime minister, a military spokesman, and an emergency chief in Tigray did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Eritrean troops – who fought alongside Ethiopian troops – no longer appear in the Shire town of Tigray, a witness told Reuters.

The return follows a series of fruitful days with Tigrayan forces fighting against the Ethiopian government and its allies.

The witness, who declined to be named for security reasons, said Eritrean troops had not been seen since Monday night. The second resident confirmed that there was a large Eritrean army from the Shire to another town in the north.

Severe pain

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to Tigray last November to overthrow the TPLF government. He said the move was made in response to TPLF threats to military camps and promised immediate victory.

But about eight months later, the operation was in dire straits when rebel forces entered Mekelle on Monday, sparking street protests in which government officials and members of Abiy’s house fled.

The Abiy government announced Monday night that it was announcing “unanimous agreement” – although no prompt response from TPLF.

“The government and the Tigray army are doing all they can to ensure that our people are safe,” TPLF said. “The Tigray government calls on our people and the Tigray army to intensify their fight until our enemies leave Tigray.”

A war of attrition

Hiba Morgan’s Al Jazeera, a spokesman from neighboring Khartoum in neighboring Sudan, said the government had declared a ceasefire and acknowledged that Ethiopian troops were not in good condition last week.

“Let us not forget that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed – on November 28, three weeks after the Tigray violence – declared war on peace and peace. [new] government, ”Morgan said.

“I did not announce the end of the gun deal in the past. The Tigray Liberation Movement will continue to fight despite the war, which appears to have taken place a few months after Abiy’s announcement. “

Although the Tigray defenses did not have large cities or towns for months, its leaders repeatedly boasted that they were reuniting in rural areas.

Last week, he launched a series of protests in support of Ethiopia’s much-anticipated elections, which took place in many countries even though it was not in Tigray.

The results of the elections have not been announced, but they are expected to give Abiy a legitimate job.

The ‘hard’ path to peace

The brutal war in Tigray has been marked by massacres, rampant sexual violence, and other forms of violence.

The United Nations has also warned that the war has displaced hundreds of people to the face of famine.

Announcing the latter, the federal government will remain until the end of the “agricultural season” and its aim is to help create agriculture and distribute aid while allowing fighters to “return to the road to peace”.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday he spoke to Abiy, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, and was “optimistic that the end of peace would come.”

He also described the recent events in Tigray as “extremely dangerous”, adding that “it also shows, that there is no war strategy to solve these problems.”

Britain, the United States, and Ireland have convened an open-air UN Security Council meeting on Friday, according to reporters.

The Security Council has been unable to hold a public meeting on Tigray since the start of the war, with many African countries, China, Russia, and other countries seeing the crisis as an internal Ethiopian crisis.

Throughout the war, Abiy benefited from military support from Eritrea’s neighboring Amhara region, Ethiopia, which crosses the Tigray south.

The military’s participation in the military is “tackling the problem of temporary gun use, which seems to be working in tandem with the government,” said Connor Vasey, a researcher for the Eurasia Group religious group.

If the political debate continues, “it could be difficult and lengthy,” Vasey said.