Ethiopia's PM Abiy Ahmed campaigns in UN vehicle amid alleged genocide in Tigray

ADDIS ABABA - In one of the most unprecedented moves, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was pictured in a United Nations-owned vehicle while on campaign trails, ahead of June 21 General election, in what could trigger a debate on the UN's commitment to ending war against Tigrayans.

For the last eight months, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF], Eritrea troops, Amhara regional forces, and some soldiers from Somalia, have been conducting an operation in the Tigray region, leaving thousands of civilians dead according to multiple inquests.

The troops have been in pursuit of Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF] fighters, who are accused of attacking the Northern Command. But instead, civilians have been subjected to torture, rape, and death under unclear circumstances, while others have been left to starve to death.

Photos taken from Abiy Ahmed's campaign trip in his Oromia backyard showed the PM driving on the United Nations vehicle with a number of security forces surrounding him. He's seen saluting to crowds at Jimma town in Oromia.

Driving in UN vehicles infringes internal policies of the global organization based on administrative instructions which state that: "The use of the assigned vehicle should be for official business and transportation to and from work."

"Our unity is our beauty. It's our strength," he said while in campaign trail at his Oromia backyard. He added: "The peace and resilience saw today from Jimma, Agaro to Shasha inspires us to serve our people better."

"I prefer I leave my fingerprints. Our unity does not destroy our diversity. Our diversity does not disperse our unity," added the embattled Prime Minister, whose rise to power in 2018 instilled hopes to millions of Ethiopians who had struggled with authoritarianism.

But despite introducing sweeping reforms which are linked to rising of ethnic cleansing, Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. However, the victory has been questioned given deaths originating from tribal animosity and the Tigray war.

It's the Tigray genocide that has badly tainted his administration, leading to retribution from the international community and even imposition of sanctions on certain senior leaders from Ethiopia and Eritrea by the US. Eritrean troops are particularly accused of overseeing mass murder in Tigray.

Yet, the United Nations Security Council is yet to convene an official sitting on the Tigray war, thus the questions about Ahmed's decision to use the UN vehicle in his personal campaigns. The UN is under pressure to declare Tigray war; genocide but such proclamation is yet to be made.

Already, the African Union has called for immediate inquiry in the Tigray war, which was commissioned earlier this week. The continental body is one of the institutions that have been accused of "betraying" Tigray people who are being exterminated by Abiy Ahmed's regime.

"The Commission of Inquiry has a mandate to, inter alia, investigate allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and to gather all relevant information so as to determine whether the allegations constitute serious and massive violations of human rights," AU said.

On Tuesday, the Ethiopian National Defense Force [ENDF] Chief of Staff, General Birhanu Jula held talks today with World Food Program [WFP] Country Director Steven Were Omamo and other officials of the organization on ways of enhancing the ongoing humanitarian activities in the Tigray region.

During the discussion held in Addis Ababa, General Birhanu briefed the WFP officials that after the attack on the Northern Command by the TPLF group, the focus of the National Defense Force was to preserve the sovereignty of the nation.

Ahead of the Ethiopia elections, Facebook said it pulled down 65 Facebook accounts, 52 pages, 27 groups, and 32 Instagram accounts for violating its rules against misleading others about their purpose and identity.

"Given the upcoming election and the ongoing tensions in Ethiopia, our teams moved as quickly as possible to complete the investigation and disrupt this operation," said Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of security policy in a press conference.

Political analyst Rashid Abdi terms Abiy Ahmed as a "transactional" leader and not a "strategic thinker or leader". "He will abandon the Amhara and will jettison Eritrea once he is in a position to create a new alliance," he notes.

Next week's polls will determine Abiy Ahmed's grip on the power given his decision to form Prosperity Party [PP], a fairly new outfit that is struggling to stamp authority across the country. The PM is also accused of detaining his critics, notably media mogul Jawar Mohammed.

GAROWE ONLINE