Ethiopia speaks of "limited" goals for Operation Tigray amid international concern

The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed.

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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abyei Ahmed announced today that the military operations launched by his forces in the Tigray region (north) are limited to their goals, at a time when calls are increasing for the country to avoid what may turn into a devastating war, while the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, called for an immediate reduction To escalate, after information was reported about violent bombing and the movement of forces, which prompted observers to warn that any war between the country's powerful armies and the region will be bloody and prolonged.

Long-running disputes turned into an armed conflict this week between Addis Ababa and the Tigray region, whose leaders practically ruled the country for decades until Abyei came to power.

And on Wednesday, Abyei, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, announced that he had ordered the launch of military operations in Tigray in response to an "attack" launched by the "Tigrayan People's Liberation Front" on an army camp in the region.

The LTTE denied the attack and accused Abyei of making up the story to justify the army’s deployment against it.

"The objectives of the ongoing operations carried out by the Federal Defense Forces in northern Ethiopia are clear, limited and achievable, which are to restore the rule of law and constitutional order and protect the rights of Ethiopians to live in peace, wherever they are in the country," Abyei wrote in a tweet today.

Abyei's comments came after the army announced last Wednesday that the country had "entered an unforeseen war" against the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

"This is a flawed and futile war," Ethiopian Army Deputy Chief of Staff Burhan Gula said on Thursday.

In turn, Abyei said that his government had "patiently tried for months to peacefully resolve disputes with the leaders of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front. We resorted to mediation, reconciliation and dialogue."

"But all (the attempts) failed due to the criminal arrogance and intransigence of the Tigray People's Liberation Front. The front's attack on the Northern Military Command, which is based in Tigray, was the straw that broke the camel's back."

In a statement on Twitter, Guterres called for "an immediate de-escalation of tension and a peaceful resolution of the conflict."

"I am deeply concerned about the situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The stability of Ethiopia is important for the entire Horn of Africa region," he said.

Yesterday, Thursday, the President of the Tigray Region, Departition Gebre Mikael, said that the fighting was taking place in western Tigray and that the federal forces were massing their elements from the borders of the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions.

An aid worker, who asked not to be identified, said that 25 wounded soldiers were admitted to the Amhara Health Center on Thursday, without clarifying who they were fighting with.

Telephone and internet connections to Tigray have been cut, making trying to verify which numbers difficult.

For its part, the International Crisis Group warned that unless the fighting stops immediately, the conflict will be "devastating not only for the country but for the entire Horn of Africa."

She indicated that prolonging the fighting would drag other countries into the conflict, such as Eritrea, whose president, Isaias Afwerki, is close to Abyei and hostile to the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which was ruling Ethiopia when it entered a war with Eritrea.

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