Afwerki's new strategy to eliminate Tigrayans - statement
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Staff reporter GAROWE ONLINE
- Posted On 08-10-2022, 08:55AM
NAIROBI, Kenya - Eritrea's strongman Isaias Afwerki has yet again been dragged to the latest strategy to eliminate Tigrayans, which systematically targets ethnic minorities in the Horn of Africa, mostly those who live across the borders of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The Tigray Office of External Affairs accused Afwerki, who has been at the helm for three decades, of using the military to target the Kunama community which lives both in Tigray [Ethiopia] and in Eritrea. The community occupies both southern Eritrea and northern Ethiopia.
In a statement, the Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF] claimed the new wave of violence has been meted against the Kunama community as a strategy to completely exterminate the people of Tigray and those from ethnic minorities.
"As part of its genocidal rampage, the Eritreans have decided to target ethnic minorities in particular the Kunama, who live on either side of the border," read the statement. "Since the start of the second wave of violence, the Eritrean administration is targeting the Kunama and other civilians in various towns such as Adi Goshu."
"The systematic campaign to exterminate the Kunama people just like the campaign to annihilate the people of Tigray is rooted in Eritrea's regime's principles of eliminating the minority, " TPLF further claimed, while calling for the international community to act swiftly and contain the situation.
The Eritrean army has been accused of assisting the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] in the fight against TPLF, further worsening the situation and efforts to reconcile warring parties. In return, Ethiopia has often dismissed the allegations but Eritrea has remained silent.
Besides targeting northern Tigray, Eritrea is also actively involved in Western Tigray where aerial bombardments have been targeting humanitarian teams and innocent civilians. The World Food Programme [WFP] was the latest to be targeted in Western Tigray.
The international community is calling for the cessation of hostilities before peace talks, but Eritrea and Ethiopian forces see hell-bent to sustain the latest operation, which has left over 70 people dead. The forces are using drones, a clear shift from initial battlefields.
On Friday, diplomatic sources revealed that talks that were scheduled to start in South Africa were postponed to allow all parties adequately prepare. Tigray team had asked the African Union to reveal modalities and guidelines for the talks besides calling for the cessation of hostilities in the region.
GAROWE ONLINE
