Fighting continues in Ethiopia, despite Ethiopia’s premier Abiy Ahmed declaring victory over Tigrayan rebels in November 2020. With elections on the horizon, has the war in Tigray done more damage to Ethiopia’s unity?
“There is a full-scale war going on in Tigray. Sudan also invaded some 40 to 50 km (25 – 31 miles) of our border. There is also the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis with Egypt.”
The United Nations Security Council on Friday scrapped plans to issue a statement calling for an end to violence in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, according to reports from three UN diplomats.
Ireland, which drafted the statement, decided not to push for approval after the council failed to reach a consensus due to objections by China, Russia and India.
The conflict in Tigray, the northern region of Ethiopia, has mostly been unfolding under a media blackout since early November. Thousands of civilians have likely died as a result of the crisis.
Senior figures have urged Eritrea to leave the region, saying mass atrocities were being committed and millions of people could go hungry without assistance.
A call from German Chancellor Angela Merkel is bound to be about something important. When she called Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in early February this year, for example, she stressed how vital it was to find a peaceful resolution to the Tigray conflict, according to her spokesman, Steffen Seibert. The German leader also said civilians caught up in the fighting must receive humanitarian assistance.
