AFP
Addis Ababa
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Tuesday the end of military operations in Ethiopia’s north is "coming within reach”, as the African Union called for an immediate ceasefire and thousands fled the violence into neighbouring Sudan.
The prime minister sent troops and air force jets into the northern region of Tigray last week in a campaign against the ruling party there, which has been at odds with Abiy’s government for months.
Abiy, last year’s Nobel Peace laureate, said the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) had crossed a "red line” and attacked two federal military bases, something the regional party has denied.
Tigray has been under a communications blackout ever since, making it difficult to weigh competing claims about casualties and who holds what territory.
Abiy said operations against the TPLF were "proceeding as planned”.
"Operations will cease as soon as the criminal junta is disarmed, legitimate administration in the region restored, and fugitives apprehended & brought to justice -- all of them rapidly coming within reach,” he posted on Twitter.
But Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, said on Tuesday that the fighting must stop, and urgent dialogue was needed "to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the country”.
"The Chairperson appeals for the immediate cessation of hostilities and calls on parties to respect human rights and ensure the protection of civilians,” he said in a statement, offering the full support of the 55-member bloc for an Ethiopian-led resolution.
The international community has expressed concern about the potential for a drawn-out conflict in Africa’s second most populous nation, pitting the powerful federal army against the large, battle-hardened military of the Tigray region.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke with Abiy at the weekend after publicly calling for the immediate de-escalation of tensions, saying the stability of Ethiopia was critical for the entire Horn of Africa region.
Much of the fighting has reportedly been concentrated in western Tigray, near Ethiopia’s borders with Sudan and Eritrea.
Thousands of civilians and some soldiers have already fled Ethiopia westward into Sudan, said Alsir Khaled, head of Sudan’s refugee agency in the eastern border town of
Kassala.
Addis Ababa
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Tuesday the end of military operations in Ethiopia’s north is "coming within reach”, as the African Union called for an immediate ceasefire and thousands fled the violence into neighbouring Sudan.
The prime minister sent troops and air force jets into the northern region of Tigray last week in a campaign against the ruling party there, which has been at odds with Abiy’s government for months.
Abiy, last year’s Nobel Peace laureate, said the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) had crossed a "red line” and attacked two federal military bases, something the regional party has denied.
Tigray has been under a communications blackout ever since, making it difficult to weigh competing claims about casualties and who holds what territory.
Abiy said operations against the TPLF were "proceeding as planned”.
"Operations will cease as soon as the criminal junta is disarmed, legitimate administration in the region restored, and fugitives apprehended & brought to justice -- all of them rapidly coming within reach,” he posted on Twitter.
But Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, said on Tuesday that the fighting must stop, and urgent dialogue was needed "to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the country”.
"The Chairperson appeals for the immediate cessation of hostilities and calls on parties to respect human rights and ensure the protection of civilians,” he said in a statement, offering the full support of the 55-member bloc for an Ethiopian-led resolution.
The international community has expressed concern about the potential for a drawn-out conflict in Africa’s second most populous nation, pitting the powerful federal army against the large, battle-hardened military of the Tigray region.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke with Abiy at the weekend after publicly calling for the immediate de-escalation of tensions, saying the stability of Ethiopia was critical for the entire Horn of Africa region.
Much of the fighting has reportedly been concentrated in western Tigray, near Ethiopia’s borders with Sudan and Eritrea.
Thousands of civilians and some soldiers have already fled Ethiopia westward into Sudan, said Alsir Khaled, head of Sudan’s refugee agency in the eastern border town of
Kassala.