Ethiopia scorns guerrilla war fears, U.N. staff shot at in Tigray

ADDIS ABABA/NAIROBI (Reuters) -Ethiopia’s govt denied on Monday that northern forces whom its troops have fought for a thirty day period would be ready to mount a guerrilla insurgency, when diplomats said a United Nations staff was shot at while striving to pay a visit to a refugee camp.

Federal troops have seized the regional funds Mekelle from the previous community ruling bash, the Tigray People’s Liberation Entrance (TPLF), and declared an conclusion to their month-long offensive.

But TPLF leaders say they are combating again on different fronts all around Mekelle. Ethiopia gurus dread a drawn-out insurgency with a destabilising impact close to east Africa.

“The felony clique pushed a patently wrong narrative that its fighters and supporters are fight-hardened and properly-armed, posing the risk of protracted insurgency in the rugged mountains of Tigray,” Key Minister Abiy Ahmed reported in a statement.

“It also claimed that it has managed to undertake strategic retreat with all its ability and regional government apparatus intact. The truth is the prison clique is completely defeated and in disarray, with insignificant capacity to mount a protracted insurgency.”

There was no instant TPLF response.

With communications largely down and accessibility for humanitarian workers and media limited, Reuters has not been in a position to confirm statements from all sides on the condition of preventing.

A U.N. stability group trying to get to entry Shimelba refugee camp, just one of four for Eritrean refugees in Tigray, was blocked and fired at on Sunday, two diplomatic sources said.

The sources declined to give far more aspects, expressing the comprehensive instances had been unclear. There was no rapid comment from the authorities or the TPLF.

In New York, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters he was aware of the experiences about a workforce currently being shot at, but “for a variety of explanations I’d relatively not remark at this point”.

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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reported he was quite involved about the scenario in Tigray and had reviewed it with Abiy and other regional leaders on Monday. He termed for the rapid restoration of the rule of legislation, total respect for human legal rights and a ensure of unfettered humanitarian access.

The conflict, which arrived soon after Abiy experienced pushed back against the TPLF’s past dominance of federal authorities and accused them of abuses, is thought to have killed hundreds of men and women.

It has also sent nearly 50,000 refugees fleeing to Sudan, viewed TPLF rockets fired into Eritrea, stirred ethnic divisions, and led to the disarming of Tigrayans in Ethiopia’s peacekeeping contingency combating al Qaeda-joined militants in Somalia.

The United Nations and help organizations are urgent for secure entry to Tigray, which is residence to far more than 5 million people and wherever 600,000 relied on foodstuff aid even ahead of the war.

The govt claims that with peace restored, its priorities are the welfare of Tigrayans and return of refugees. But some inhabitants, diplomats and the TPLF say clashes persist, with protests and looting also claimed in Mekelle on Friday.

The Ethiopian authorities issued arrest warrants for 10 senior police officers in Addis Ababa on Monday, saying they had committed treason and rights abuses by accepting unspecified missions for the TPLF, in accordance to point out-managed media.

The TPLF dominated federal government for approximately three many years, till Abiy took office in 2018 and began democratic reforms.

The social gathering accuses him of looking for to centralise electricity at the price of Ethiopia’s 10 locations and suggests Tigrayan officers were unfairly targeted in a crackdown on corruption and legal rights abuses. The govt denies that and accuses TPLF leaders of treason for attacking federal forces in early November.

Senior TPLF leaders which include its head, Debretsion Gebremichael, are hiding in mountains wherever troops ended up closing in on them, the navy has mentioned. State-affiliated broadcaster Fana reported the military captured a lot more than 40 autos after TPLF leaders fled on foot.