By Theodore Jones –
Ethiopian rebel group, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), has said it is moving away from regions it captured from neighbouring territories in what may or may not lead to ceasefire.
In a letter addressed to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, TPLF chairman, Dr Debretsion GebreMichael, said besides their withdrawal, the group was seeking for the establishment of a no-fly zone for “hostile flights of aircrafts and drones” flying over Tigray, but with the exemption of humanitarian and civilian deliveries.
The move, ahead of a crucial meeting of the UN Security Council on Ethiopia on Monday night, was seen as an effort to open up aid channels for hungry families, the sick and students, all of whose search for food, medicine and education were dashed in the 13-month long conflict that has left thousands dead and others displaced.
The Council was expected to meet late on Monday under ‘Any other business’, traditionally allocated to emergency situations deemed threatening to world peace and security. Council members France, Estonia, Ireland, Norway, UK and US — all of who have been critical of Ethiopia’s handling of the Tigray crisis — had called for the meeting ostensibly to discuss the humanitarian crisis.
Last week, a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that nearly 10 million people in Tigray and neighbouring regions need humanitarian assistance. There are other shortages such as fuel and essential commodities in the region that has been mostly under a blockade during the year-long war.
Since November last year when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched an offensive on the TPLF, he has considered them a criminal clique, which is why the announcement of withdrawing from the regions they captured was being taken with a pinch of salt. It has come as Prime Minister Abiy’s forces launched an aggressive aerial shelling of TPLF bases using drones supplied by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.