The US warns pilots that there could be “long-term air fire” in Ethiopia Conflict News

A tip from the FAA warns that clashes between government forces and the TPLF could threaten flights if fighting reaches the capital.

The United States has warned that planes flying from Ethiopia’s main international airport, one of Africa’s most populous, could be “directly or indirectly affected by ground and / or ground fire” as a result of the country. spiral conflict near the capital, Addis Ababa.

An adviser to the Federal Aviation Administration cited “ongoing clashes” between Ethiopian forces and fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in a warning to pilots at Addis Ababa International Bole Airport.

The warning was issued on Wednesday, as the US urged citizens to leave the country immediately and a day later, at risk of escalating fighting.

The FAA council said there had been no new disruptions at the airport and that it had “no intention of threatening civil aviation”.

He added that the risk of planes approaching and leaving could increase if Tigray fighters surround the capital.

Fighting in Ethiopia began in November 2020, when the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to the northern Tigray region. There have been government forces attributed to blocking hindering the scope and flow of international aid.

Meanwhile, Tigray fighters have advanced in recent months to neighboring Amhara and Afar regions. In early November, they formed a coalition with other rebel groups and threatened to march on the capital.

Both sides have been accused of committing atrocities in the year of the fighting, killing thousands of people, displacing more than two million and facing conditions similar to hundreds of thousands of famines.

Meanwhile, there have been African Union, the US and other actors in the region mixing to calm tensions in recent weeks.

On Thursday, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Dina Mufti told reporters that African Union envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, and Jeffrey Feltman, U.S. envoy, are currently in the country.

The FAA’s advice said Tigray fighters “are likely to have a lot of anti-aircraft weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank weapons, low-caliber anti-aircraft artillery and portable air defense systems for humans” or MANPADS. , which can reach 25,000 meters above ground level.

Addis Ababa International Airport is home to the state-owned company Ethiopian Airlines, a growing economy in the world that is a symbol of Ethiopia’s first status before the war.

In recent years the airline has become the largest and best-managed carrier in Africa, and Addis Ababa has become the main gateway to the continent.

Addis Ababa is also the diplomatic capital of the continent, which is home to the African Union.