SATURDAY JULY 31 2021
Afar Special Forces soldier in front of the debris of a house in the outskirts of the village of Bisober, Tigray Region in Dec 2020. PHOTO | AFP
Summary
- TPLF had issued pre-conditions for ceasefire, shortly after the Ethiopian army withdrew from Mekelle, capital of Tigray, in late June.
- They now want the immediate resumption of suspended services such as telecommunication, banking and health services, electricity, all forms of transportation and commerce.
- The Ethiopian federal police has admitted to detaining a number of ethnic Tigrayans in Addis Ababa, saying they had links to TPLF.
By AGGREY MUTAMBO
By TESFA-ALEM TEKLE
The Ethiopian government is now blaming the Tigray People’s Liberation Front [TPLF] for the problems in the country’s northern region, including the ongoing humanitarian crisis, as the TPLF says it could consider a ceasefire, in light of fast-changing political and military developments and their ramifications for the peace and security of the country.
“It has become increasingly obvious that the current regime has neither the legitimacy and the constitutional mandate nor the wherewithal to govern the country,” the TPLF said on Thursday.
“In light of this, we are calling for the commitment of a transitional arrangement and an all-inclusive political process that includes the major political actors in the country with a view to addressing the current political and constitutional problems afflicting the country.”
TPLF had issued pre-conditions for ceasefire, shortly after the Ethiopian army withdrew from Mekelle, capital of Tigray, in late June.
They now want the immediate resumption of suspended services such as telecommunication, banking and health services, electricity, all forms of transportation and commerce. It also requires blockade of media to the region is ceased with immediate effect.
They also want the immediate release of withheld Tigrayan budget for the upcoming Ethiopian fiscal year and for the establishment of multiple humanitarian corridors that allow for the provision of humanitarian assistance in all forms.