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Ethiopian PM declares deadline given to rebels in north over

Tuesday, 17 November 2020 9:37 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 17 November 2020 10:28 AM ]

Members of Amhara region militia ride on a truck as they head to face the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), in Sanja, Amhara region, near a border with Tigray, Ethiopia, on November 9, 2020. (Photo by Reuters)

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says the three-day deadline given to rebel forces in the northern region of Tigray to lay down their arms has ended, warning of a final push to retake the regional capital, Mekelle.

"The three-day ultimatum given to Tigray Special Forces and the militia to surrender to the national defense... ended today," Abiy said in a statement posted on Facebook on Tuesday. "Following the expiration of this deadline, the final critical act of law enforcement will be done in the coming days."

Abiy gave Tigray's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), three days to surrender to the national army on Friday. He said they were "in the final throes of death."

The prime minister announced a military offensive in Tigray on November 4, saying it was in response to assaults by the TPLF on federal troops.

The fighting has left hundreds dead and forced around 25,000 Ethiopians to flee across the border into Sudan. The crisis also risks destabilizing the wider Horn of Africa region.

The warning came after government forces conducted "precision-led and surgical air operations" outside Makelle, according to a government emergency task-force, and after ground troops pushed forward, reportedly on Monday morning.

Tigrayan leaders accused the government of having attacked a sugar factory and a dam.

Abiy, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has resisted calls by the United Nations, the African Union, and various countries for talks with the armed rebels in the north.

Ethiopia seizes town in Tigray as conflict spreads to neighboring Eritrea

Ethiopia has liberated a town in the northernmost region of Tigray.

The fighting is now set to continue as Tigrayan leader Debretsion Gebremichael said on Tuesday that "the government and people of Tigray" would hold their ground.

"This campaign cannot be finished. As long as the army of the invaders is in our land, the fight will continue. They cannot keep us silent by military force," he told AFP.

Nobel Committee calls for end to fighting

The Nobel Committee, which awarded Abiy the 2019 Peace Prize for his efforts to heal divisions with Eritrea, expressed its deep concern about the fighting in Ethiopia and urged all parties to de-escalate.

"The Committee is following developments in Ethiopia closely and is deeply concerned," its Secretary Olav Njolstad told AFP on Monday.

"It reiterates today what it said before, namely that all parties involved share responsibility for halting the escalation of violence and contributing to resolving differences and conflicts by peaceful means."

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