The “real” risk of Ethiopia entering the civil war: UN Conflict News

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UN political leader Rosemary DiCarlo said Ethiopia “is in real danger of spreading civil war”, adding that “the political consequences of escalating violence in the wider region would be dire, exacerbating the many crises facing the Horn of Africa.” .
Addressing the Security Council on Monday, the UN Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Peace said, despite speculation on how the Ethiopian crisis will unfold in the coming weeks, “in a country of more than 110 million people, more than 90 different ethnic groups. 80 groups and 80 languages. what insecurity will bring ”.
He said more than seven million people needed humanitarian aid in northern Ethiopia alone, with about 400,000 people living in Tigray in conditions similar to famine.
He said that although some emergency supplies have been moved, it has been four months since the last large shipment of medicines and health supplies to Tigray, which is home to about six million people.
A UN official said the report by the OHCHR on the Tigray conflict released last week and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission sheds light on the tremendous suffering suffered by civilians.
The report concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe that all parties to the conflict – Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Eritrean Defense Forces, Amhara Special Forces and Allied militias on the one hand and Tigris forces on the other – had committed international human rights violations. , humanitarian and refugee law. He noted that war crimes and crimes against humanity had also been committed.
DiCarlo said the enemy should be suspended immediately, as requested by the UN Secretary-General, the President of the African Union Commission, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and the UN Security Council.
He said: “Ethiopia, a founding member of the United Nations, needs our help. We urge Ethiopians to come together before it is too late to build a prosperous and shared future.”
Reports of new attacks
The conflict between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) began a year ago and has intensified in recent days, declaring a nationwide state of emergency last week and telling residents of the capital to be ready to take up arms to defend their homes. .
Thousands have been killed and more than two million have fled their homes since last November, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed led Tigray a long time ago and launched a military offensive against the TPLF, a major player in Ethiopia’s national politics.
Tensions began to burn when Abiy came to power in 2018 and sought to reduce his influence.
Since the beginning of August, the conflict has spread from the Tigray region to the adjacent Afar and Amhara regions. Along with the rebels of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), the TPLF has threatened to advance on the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Addis Ababa to express solidarity with the government led by Abiy.
Demands for peace come when a deadly attack on the Tigris ethnic group and a new mandatory census began now in an area of the country controlled by Amhara region authorities, in collaboration with neighboring Eritrean soldiers, people fleeing the border to Sudan told the Associated Press. news agency.
The UA representative calls for collective action
On the other hand, the High Representative of the African Branch of the African Union, Olusegun Obasanjo, said that the crisis situation in northern Ethiopia has continued to deteriorate tremendously in recent weeks, and the situation has worsened.
Obasanjo, who is currently in Ethiopia, said he had been in contact with all actors, including the Ethiopian prime minister and president, in an effort to remove the situation.
Obasanjo said it is time to find lasting solutions for collective action to prevent further escalation that could have a direct impact on the strategic security of the entire Horn of Africa region.
He called on the Council to urge the Ethiopian Federal Government and the Tigray rebels to engage in political dialogue without any conditions.
On Monday, the U.S. State Department said Washington believes there is a small window to make further efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully with the African Union.
U.S. Special Envoy Jeffrey Feltman visited Addis Ababa on Monday as part of diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
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