Ethiopia's army to re-enter seized Mekelle "if needed"

ADDIS ABABA - In what seems to be a rejoinder to Tigray Defense Forces [TDF] victory claim in Mekelle, the Ethiopian government now says the army can re-enter the northern city in the Tigray region "if needed", casting doubt on the recently declared ceasefire.

A spokesperson for the federal government said the ceasefire which was declared on Monday was purposely to allow humanitarian missions to help thousands of people facing starvation in the war-torn region.

The statement comes hours after the Tigray Defense Forces claimed victory in the town where they had been kicked out for several months. The team said it had flushed ENDF troops from the regional administrative capital adding that "we shall pursue our enemies".

"Ethiopia is exposed to an attack from outsiders" because of the conflict, Redwan Hussein, spokesman for the Ethiopian government's task force for Tigray, told reporters in an apparent reference to Sudan.

On Monday, as the reports emerged of Tigrayan troops reaching downtown Mekelle, the regional capital, the federal government issued a statement declaring a unilateral ceasefire with immediate effect.

Getachew Rada, the spokesperson of the ouster Tigray government that was under TPLF, told Reuters on Tuesday that the ceasefire declaration was a "joke". Phone lines were down in Mekelle on Wednesday.

Redwan described the ceasefire as a political decision "made for humanitarian cause".

"If it is required, we can easily enter to Mekelle and we can enter in less than three weeks," he said.

The TPLF, an ethnically based political party that dominated Ethiopia's national politics for nearly three decades, has been battling the central government since early November. It made major territorial gains in the past week.

But TDF has also threatened to pursue Amhara regional forces and the Eritrean troops who were stationed in Tigray for months during the war. Rada insisted that the TDF will not "leave anything to chances until we vanquish our enemies".

The fighting in the region started when TPLF now TDF attacked the Northern Command, killing and abducting a number of Ethiopian soldiers. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed deployed ENDF troops to the region, who were closely assisted by Eritrea and Amhara regional forces in unleashing the TPLF fighters.

Humanitarian missions say thousands have been killed in the conflict, the worst since Abiy Ahmed took over in 2018. He's also been struggling to stamp authority across the country with a number of ethnic violence cases also rising rapidly.

GAROWE ONLINE