Washington expresses concern as tide changes in Tigray

The United States has expressed concern over reports of fighting in Ethiopia's northern province of Tigray. Addis Ababa has confirmed its readiness to respond to "rebel attacks" as Tigray fighters pushed back after 8 months of fighting in which the Ethiopian government declared its victory. 

US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield, tweeted calling on all parties to the conflict to immediately agree to a negotiated ceasefire and political dialogue. 

The Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, hinted that the Ethiopian forces will deter any attacks and defend the country while the Ethiopian army's chief co-ordinator for capacity-building work, General Pasha Debele, said that the army was ready to resume the offensive. 

Over the past three weeks, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) recaptured most of the territory after a sudden reverse shift in the eight-month war. Just before the recapture, the Ethiopian government had declared a ceasefire and pulled out government forces. 

The head of the TPLF, Debretsion Gebremichael, stressed that even if the conflict with the Ethiopian government ends soon, confidence has been shattered and the future of Tigray in Ethiopia is now in doubt.

The comments by the leader of the TPLF came in an interview with the New York Times published earlier in July after the recapture of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region. 

 

source: commonspace.eu with Al Jazeera (Doha). 
photo: Debretsion Gebremichael, leader of the Tigray People's Liberation Front. 

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
Thirty Armenian members of the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups meet in Yerevan

Thirty Armenian members of the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups meet in Yerevan

Yesterday (23 September) around thirty Armenians involved in the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups gathered in Yerevan to be briefed by Leonid Narsisian, co-Chair of the thematic group on Peace and Security; Narek Minasyan, Chair of the thematic group on regional connectivity; Sargis Harutyunyan, Chair of the thematic group on Governance; Aghavni Harutyunyan, Deputy Chair of the thematic group on Environment; and Andranik Shirinyan, Deputy Chair of the thematic group on gender and diversity. The Thematic Groups are a LINKS Europe initiative aimed at promoting a new style of Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue, fit for the new reality. They will present their five reports in mid-November. We were delighted to welcome to the meeting in Yerevan, Murad Muradov, Azerbaijani co-Chair of the thematic group on peace and security who also spoke. Others to address the meeting included Erik Jessen, Political Officer at the EU Delegation in Armenia, Stepan Grigoryan, Senior Member of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Expert Strategic Platform (under the auspices of LINKS Europe), and Dennis Sammut, Director and George Simonishvili, South Caucasus coordinator, of LINKS Europe. It was a very good and engaging meeting, also attended by representatives of various embassies, including HE Marieke Monroy-Winter, the Ambassador of The Netherlands. A similar meeting with Azerbaijani members will take place in Baku on Friday (26 September). The Armenian and Azerbaijani members have been meeting on line since April. On 27 October they will meet together in Tbilisi to finalise their work.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
Thirty Armenian members of the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups meet in Yerevan

Thirty Armenian members of the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups meet in Yerevan

Yesterday (23 September) around thirty Armenians involved in the five Armenian-Azerbaijani Thematic Groups gathered in Yerevan to be briefed by Leonid Narsisian, co-Chair of the thematic group on Peace and Security; Narek Minasyan, Chair of the thematic group on regional connectivity; Sargis Harutyunyan, Chair of the thematic group on Governance; Aghavni Harutyunyan, Deputy Chair of the thematic group on Environment; and Andranik Shirinyan, Deputy Chair of the thematic group on gender and diversity. The Thematic Groups are a LINKS Europe initiative aimed at promoting a new style of Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue, fit for the new reality. They will present their five reports in mid-November. We were delighted to welcome to the meeting in Yerevan, Murad Muradov, Azerbaijani co-Chair of the thematic group on peace and security who also spoke. Others to address the meeting included Erik Jessen, Political Officer at the EU Delegation in Armenia, Stepan Grigoryan, Senior Member of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Expert Strategic Platform (under the auspices of LINKS Europe), and Dennis Sammut, Director and George Simonishvili, South Caucasus coordinator, of LINKS Europe. It was a very good and engaging meeting, also attended by representatives of various embassies, including HE Marieke Monroy-Winter, the Ambassador of The Netherlands. A similar meeting with Azerbaijani members will take place in Baku on Friday (26 September). The Armenian and Azerbaijani members have been meeting on line since April. On 27 October they will meet together in Tbilisi to finalise their work.