Ethiopia: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed calls for national mobilization
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he had ordered a military response to an 'attack' by the ruling party of the restive Tigray region on a camp housing federal troops Sudan's Foreign Media Council / AFP / File
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A new pressing call from the Ethiopian authorities for general mobilization.
This time, it is the Prime Minister himself who urges his compatriots to join the federal army or the regional forces in the face of the advance of the Tigrayan rebels.
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The unilateral humanitarian cease-fire announced at the end of June by Addis Ababa is definitively buried.
In a press release published on Tuesday, August 10, Abiy Ahmed explains that "
it is the moment for all able and adult Ethiopians to show their patriotism
".
This is not the first call of its kind.
It has been several weeks since authorities in Amhara State did the same.
The region is just south of Tigray.
She disputes several territories with him, so she is on the front line.
On July 25, its president encouraged its inhabitants to go to the front.
A "
survival campaign
" for Amhara, according to the local leader.
A few days earlier, several Ethiopian provinces had claimed to have sent fighters to the North against the Tigrayan rebels.
“
Forced recruitments
” according to some opponents, particularly Oromos.
The federal army itself has already organized several mobilization campaigns.
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See also:
Conflict in Ethiopia: a rally in Addis Ababa to enlist young people in the army
Heavy fighting in Weldiya
Because the Tigrayan troops continue to advance on several fronts.
They intend to give way to the blockade imposed by Addis Ababa.
Violent fighting took place around the strategic node of Weldiya, on the edge of the Hauts Plateaux, on the road to the federal capital.
Hence this new call for general mobilization.
The Prime Minister's office also asks people to monitor their village, their neighborhood, on the lookout for what the press release calls "
spies and agents
" of the TPLF, the Tigrayan party.
In recent weeks, human rights activists have expressed concern about the arrests of Tigrayans, especially in Addis Ababa.
In addition, we learned on Tuesday that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had again access since August 5 to the Tigray camps housing Eritreans.
“
However, access remains limited
[...].
Essential services such as health care are still not provided and drinking water is becoming scarce,
”according to the UNHCR spokesperson.
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Ethiopia
Abiy Ahmed