Ethiopia has informed 4 Irish diplomats working in their country’s embassy in Addis Ababa that they must leave the country by next week, against the backdrop of Ireland’s positions on the conflict in Ethiopia, while diplomatic sources told the island that the efforts of the African and American mediators have so far failed to bring the positions of the Ethiopian government and the front Liberation of the Tigray people.

Today, Wednesday, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney expressed his regret at Ethiopia’s decision to expel 4 of its 6 Irish diplomats, due to the Irish position on the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia. Consistent with positions and statements issued by the European Union.

On the other hand, diplomatic sources told Al Jazeera that the efforts of the US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman and the African Special Envoy Olusegun Obasanjo faced a hardening of the positions of the Ethiopian government and the Tigray Front, which are fighting on more than one front in the north of the country.

The sources revealed that Addis Ababa adhered to the withdrawal of the forces of the Tigray Front from the cities it controlled in the Amhara region, while the Tigray Front adhered to the condition that its name be removed from the list of terrorist groups approved by the Ethiopian Parliament, and the withdrawal of the Ethiopian army from areas west of Hamra city on the Sudanese border in which it controls Amhara militias.


point of agreement

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Ethiopia learned that the two sides of the conflict agreed only on one point, which is the necessity of delivering humanitarian aid to those affected by the war in the Amhara, Tigray and Afar regions, all in the Ethiopian north. The two sides also pledged not to harm civilians, property and infrastructure, and to stop the fighting in crowded cities.

And the US envoy to the Horn of Africa said yesterday, Tuesday, in press statements, after returning from his visit to Ethiopia yesterday, that the Ethiopian Prime Minister and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front “apparently believe that both of them are on the verge of achieving a military victory.”

Feltman stated that diplomatic progress has been made towards "trying to push the parties to move from military confrontation to the negotiation process, but what worries us is that this fragile progress may be overtaken by worrying developments on the ground, which threaten the stability and unity of Ethiopia in general."

On the field level, military confrontations continue between government forces and the rebels in the "Shewa Orbit" front (218 km north of the capital) and the "Bati Casita front" (414 km north of the capital). More towards the town of Debarsina.

Two-front positions

In the Bate Kasita front, the Tigray Front is trying to penetrate to the town of "Mali" in order to cut a vital road linking the port of Djibouti to Addis Ababa, but the pro-government Afar Special Forces have repelled these attempts.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front had published a video two days ago of what it said that thousands of captured Ethiopian army soldiers in the city of Mekele (the capital of the Tigray region) were alongside a crowd calling for an end to the war and pressure on the Prime Minister's government.

A spokesman for the Tigray Front said that the number of these prisoners is about 11 thousand, without giving further details.

#POWs in Tigray came out en masse yesterday to express solidarity with the people of Tigray.

They also expressed their gratitude to the ppl & government of Tigray for the humane treatment it has accorded them.#TigrayShallPrevail!

pic.twitter.com/UntJSJ91fn

— Getachew K Reda (@reda_getachew) November 22, 2021

On the other hand, Ethiopian official media reported today, Wednesday, that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived at the front lines of the country's forces fighting the rebels in the Tigray region (in the north of the country) to lead his country's forces there.

Ethiopian officials had earlier issued calls urging Ethiopians to participate in what they described as a national defense campaign, and the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry described the conflict in the north of the country as a conspiracy to humiliate all Africans and to impose a new form of colonialism.

Calls to leave

Because of the escalation of fighting in the north of Ethiopia and its approach to the capital, Switzerland advised today, Wednesday, its citizens, to leave Ethiopia, and not to travel to it for any reason, and Britain today also urged its citizens to leave Ethiopia as soon as possible due to the deterioration of the armed conflict and the approach of the battles to the capital.

Many countries in the world have advised their nationals to leave Africa's second most populous country, and the United Nations said on Tuesday that it will temporarily evacuate all family members of international staff working in Ethiopia, while its employees remain on duty in Addis Ababa.

The Ethiopian authorities declared early this month a state of emergency throughout the country for half a year, and the decision came after the Tigray People's Liberation Front threatened to advance towards the capital.

Earlier this month, the Ethiopian authorities declared a state of emergency throughout the country for half a year, and the decision came after the Tigray People's Liberation Front threatened to advance towards the capital.

On November 4, 2020, clashes erupted between the Ethiopian army and the Tigray Front, after government forces entered the region in response to an attack on an army base, and the army was able to regain control of the border region with Sudan.

However, the Tigray Front was able last June to regain control of the Tigray region, including its capital, Mekele, and expanded its battles against government forces, to bypass the region and move to the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions.

The Front has allied itself with armed groups opposed to the Addis Ababa government, including the Oromo Liberation Army, which is active in the Oromo region surrounding the capital, Addis Ababa.