At the end of the 72-hour deadline he had set for her

Abiy Ahmed orders the final attack on the Tigray authorities in Mekele

Fighters from the Special Forces of the Amhara Nationality loyal to the Ethiopian government operating in Tigray.

A.F.B.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, yesterday ordered the army to launch a final attack against the rebel Tigray authorities in Mekele, the capital of this northern region calling for secession from Ethiopia, at the end of a 72-hour deadline that he had set for them.

Abe said, on his Facebook account, that the army had received orders to "implement the last stage" of the operation that began on November 4 against the leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, promising to "make all efforts so that the city of Mikkeli would not be severely damaged." And "to protect civilians."

"The door to the recent peaceful exit of the Tigray People's Liberation Front was closed due to the arrogance of the military council," Abe said, after the expiration of a 72-hour deadline given to the Tigray authorities and members of their forces to surrender.

"If the criminal gang of the Tigrayan Liberation Front had chosen to surrender peacefully, the (military) campaign would have ended with the least amount of damage," the Ethiopian Prime Minister said, noting that he had given Tigray leaders "many opportunities to surrender peacefully in recent weeks."

He also added that "thousands of fighters from the Tigrayan Liberation Front had surrendered," but without being able to verify this.

He called on the "inhabitants of Mikkeli and its surroundings" to "lay down their arms, to stay away from military targets, and to take all necessary precautions."

"Everything will be done to avoid targeting archaeological sites and places of worship, public and development institutions, and private homes," he said.

Diplomats told «AFP», the day before yesterday, that the federal forces were at least 30 km north and south of Mikkeli.

In the fourth week of the military offensive against the Tigrayan Liberation Front, the Ethiopian Prime Minister is facing increasing pressure from the United Nations and other countries concerned about the repercussions on civilians, the possibility of "war crimes" in Mekele, as well as the risk of conflict developing into confrontations between the various groups of this diverse country. .

Yesterday, Abiy Ahmed asked the international community not to interfere in the Tigrayan conflict, and said in a statement: "We respectfully request the international community to refrain from any unwelcome action and illegal interference, and to respect the basic principles of non-interference contained in international law."

Yesterday, the federal government also rejected the mediation offer entrusted to the African Union, which is based in Addis Ababa.

She only confirmed that she would receive "respectfully" three former presidents of Mozambique, Joachim Chissano, Liberia, Eileen Johnson Sirleaf, and South Africa, like Galima Motlanthe, who arrived Wednesday in the Ethiopian capital.

"Human Rights Watch" stated yesterday that "the laws of war limit attacks to military objectives, and impose on the parties an obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants."

Yesterday, the federal government confirmed that it had begun "distributing food, medicine, drinking water and non-food aid" to displaced civilians in "Tigray areas under its control," and it pledged to "open the way for humanitarian aid to arrive."

She said she was "determined to work with United Nations agencies and other humanitarian organizations" who requested permission to enter the area.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of the Tigrayans for 15 years was the spearhead of the armed struggle against the Marxist military regime that was overthrown in 1991. It controlled the political and security apparatus of Ethiopia for nearly 30 years.

And Abe justifies the operation against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which is taking power in this region and has been challenging his authority for months, by the necessity of "preserving the political and constitutional order" in this federal country.

The Prime Minister also sheds light on two accusations that he had previously brought against the front, but the latter denied them.

Abe accuses the Tigrayans of launching an attack in early November on two federal military bases in Tigray, and slaughtering more than 600 people shortly after the outbreak of the conflict, in the Mai Kadra region.

No specific toll of the battles is known yet, but it resulted in hundreds of deaths at least.

More than 40,000 Ethiopians have been displaced by the conflict to neighboring Sudan, and an unspecified number have fled to Tigray and Ethiopia.

Sudan fears the intensification of its economic crisis with the arrival of refugees

Sudanese fear that the massive arrival of Ethiopian refugees will exacerbate the economic crisis in their country resulting from years of war and mismanagement, and finally, catastrophic floods.

More than 40,000 refugees have entered Sudan since the start of the conflict on the fourth of November, between the Ethiopian federal government and the rebel Tigray region bordering Sudan.

Those who fled the fighting were housed in unsanitary camps on the other side of the border in eastern Sudan, where they lack food, water and sanitation.

"The number of (refugees) is greater than our capacity (to receive), and any increase in the numbers will lead to additional pressure, not only on the state, but on Sudan as a whole," Gadarif's governor, Suleiman Ali, told AFP.

About 65% of the estimated 42 million Sudanese live below the poverty line, according to government figures.

The inflation rate in Sudan exceeds 200%, and the country suffers from a chronic shortage of foreign currencies, which leads to long lines to buy bread, and others in front of gas stations.

The electricity is cut off for at least six hours a day.

Residents of eastern Sudan, in Gedaref and Kassala, in particular, are feeling the severity of the economic crisis, which are the two states that received refugees.

"Eastern Sudan is the poorest region in the country, and the refugee influx will lead to increased competition for resources and aid," said Jonas Horner of the International Crisis Group.

"The government will have to rely heavily on the aid of local and international organizations," he added.

The border town of Hamdayit, on the outskirts of Kassala, received 28,000 refugees.

Residents say that with their arrival, prices have risen in the local markets.

In addition to the economic problems, the sanitation situation is poor in the refugee camps.

Camp doctors confirm that cases of AIDS, fever, dysentery and tuberculosis have already appeared among the refugees, but no official number has yet been announced.

"The health situation is now terrible," says the governor of Gedaref.

The federal government is rejecting a mediation offer for the African Union, which has its headquarters in Addis Ababa.

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