Ethiopia crisis..International and regional movements for a cease-fire and Facebook deletes a post by Abi Ahmed

African and Western countries called for an immediate cease-fire in Ethiopia, and the American envoy for the Horn of Africa will hold talks today, Thursday in Addis Ababa, after the forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front in the north of the country threatened to march towards the capital, and Facebook deleted a post of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for what he considered Violation of the site's policies that refuse to incite violence.

The American envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, arrived in the Ethiopian capital to press for a ceasefire between government forces and the Tigray Liberation Front, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Musa Faki, said that he discussed with Feltman the current developments in Ethiopia, and Al-Jazeera correspondent in Ethiopia stated that Faki and Feltman agreed to Coordination of cooperation to end conflicts and crises in the Horn of Africa in order to achieve stability in the region and the continent.

And US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the African Union and the United Nations played an important role in dealing with the crisis in Ethiopia, again Washington's demand for Eritrea to withdraw its forces from the Tigray region completely.

The ministry's spokesman, Addis Ababa, also warned that any attempt to impede the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Tigray region would be met with an appropriate response.

IGAD call

The East African Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) today stressed that the parties to the conflict in Ethiopia must immediately cease hostilities and seek a ceasefire.

A senior official in the Ugandan Foreign Ministry said today that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called a meeting of IGAD leaders on November 16 to discuss the Ethiopian conflict.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta issued a statement calling for an "immediate cessation of hostilities in Ethiopia and a dialogue in order to find sustainable peace."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he spoke with the Ethiopian prime minister on Wednesday to present his efforts to create conditions for dialogue so that the fighting stops.

The European Union's foreign policy and security official, Josep Borrell, said that he supports the mediation efforts in Ethiopia, stressing the importance of launching a comprehensive national dialogue within the framework of the Ethiopian constitution.

Emergencies and arrests

Today, the Ethiopian parliament ratified the authorities' declaration of a state of emergency throughout the country, which will last for 6 months, and the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation said that the decision aims to "protect society and the nation from the security threat posed by the terrorist group," referring to the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

The state of emergency requires citizens to carry identification cards anywhere they move, under which anyone suspected of having ties to the "group" will be arrested without any arrest warrant, and security forces can conduct random raids, and the government will confiscate unregistered weapons.

The Ethiopian Parliament’s decision coincided with the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of clashes on November 4, 2020, between the Ethiopian army and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, after government forces entered the region in response to an attack on an army base.

And Reuters news agency - quoting a spokesman for the Ethiopian police today - reported that the police have arrested many people in Addis Ababa since the government declared a state of emergency yesterday.

Residents told the agency on Wednesday that Tigrayans had been arrested, but the police spokesman said the arrests were not on an ethnic basis.

Residents in the Ethiopian capital told Reuters that Tigrayans were arrested after the state of emergency was declared, but an Addis Ababa police spokesman said the arrests were not on ethnic grounds.

Facebook post

Facebook removed a post by the Ethiopian Prime Minister for what was considered a violation of the site's policies that reject incitement to violence, after Abiy Ahmed pledged to bury the enemies of the government in the blood of Ethiopians.

In his deleted post, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia called on citizens to take up arms to stop the progress of the Tigray Liberation Front fighters towards the capital, because their arrival would lead to the demise of the country, he said.

On the field level, the spokesman of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, Getachew Reda, said yesterday that the TPLF forces are in the town of Kimisi in Amhara state, 325 km from the capital. We don't want bloodshed, we hope the process will be peaceful if possible."

The front and the allied Oromo Liberation Army had taken control of the strategic cities of Disi and Kombolcha last weekend in the Amhara region (in the north of the country).

In an indication of the deteriorating security situation, the US Embassy in Ethiopia said today that it has allowed the voluntary departure of non-essential embassy staff and their family members due to the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia and potential shortages in supplies.

On Wednesday, Britain urged its citizens to consider leaving Ethiopia while there were still commercial alternatives available to leave, in reference to flights.