Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called for “all capable Ethiopians” to join government forces (WaPo) in a conflict against rebels that began in the Tigray region but has recently spread to the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions. Abiy’s appeal comes despite calls for de-escalation from the United States, the United Nations, and other governments and Abiy’s own declaration of a unilateral cease-fire (AFP) less than two months ago.
The government’s battle against militias from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a party that ruled the country for three decades, has caused a humanitarian catastrophe. At least seven hundred thousand people face emergency levels of hunger, according to the United Nations. An Amnesty International report found that Ethiopian troops and their Eritrean partners have raped hundreds of women and girls (AFP). On Sunday, Sudan said Ethiopia had rejected its offer to mediate (FT) the conflict.
Analysis
“His legacy, at least, is secure. Mr. Abiy will forever be the Nobel Peace laureate who refused to give peace a chance,” the Addis Standard’s Tsedale Lemma writes for the New York Times.
“From potential state collapse to humanitarian catastrophe to the very real risk of genocide, a host of reasons compel a more resolute international response [to the conflict in Tigray]. That response should provide antagonists confidence that a true ceasefire does not mean surrendering to certain slaughter or siege, political space to dial down incendiary rhetoric and get armed ethnic forces out of the driver’s seat, and certainty about the high costs of pressing real or perceived advantages to prolong the conflict,
