Aug. 26 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Ethiopian government has accused this Friday the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF) of reviving the conflict through “belligerent rhetoric”, for which it has urged the rebels to “assume” their responsibility in the face of a possible rupture of the truce declared in March.
“The TPLF falsely claimed that it had been attacked and that the unilateral humanitarian truce could be considered non-existent. Its propaganda machine has also been intensely engaged in undermining peace efforts, as well as denigrating and attacking the African Union,” explained the Ethiopian Government in a statement sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In this sense, he has accused the rebel group of recruiting and training “by force” young people from the region, while pointing out that it has mobilized the population “through coercion and propaganda.” “(The TPLF) launched the offensive, as expected,” he added.
“The entrenched violent nature of the TPLF and its recent behavior explain why it would be unprepared for peace. The TPLF’s broad daylight theft of fuel intended for humanitarian aid shows its utter disregard for the well-being of people in the region and humanitarian principles,” he explained.
The Ethiopian government was referring to the complaint by the executive director of the World Food Program (WFP), David Beasley, who said on Thursday that the group had looted about 570,000 liters of fuel in an agency warehouse in the regional capital, Mekelle. .
The TPLF called the accusations “unfounded” and, in a statement, explained that it had “lent” some 600,000 liters of fuel to the WFP and “simply” limited itself to asking for its return to use it for basic services.
The Executive has already said in a statement that the theft of fuel denounced by the WFP is a war crime. For Addis Ababa, the TPLF uses the aid “as a weapon” for its struggle, assuming that the allegedly looted fuel will “undoubtedly” serve to carry out attacks.
The Ethiopian Armed Forces this week resumed military operations in the northern part of the country, where the TPLF denounced the start of a “large-scale offensive.” The Air Force confirmed the shooting down of a plane that had entered from Sudan and was supposedly carrying weapons for the rebel group.
The African Union is also following with “deep concern” the news coming from Ethiopia and through its main official, Musa Faki Mahamat, has called, like the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, for an “immediate” ceasefire and “resume talks to seek a peaceful solution” to the conflict.
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