Ethiopia says government forces have seized three towns in Tigre
Ethiopia said on Tuesday that its troops had captured three towns in Tigray, the latest major battlefield change in a brutal war.
International calls to stop the escalating violence in Tigray have increased since the African Union’s failed attempt to bring warring sides to the negotiating table earlier this month.
It is the latest twist in a two-year civil war pitting federal forces and their allies against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), marked by several dramatic turns.
Troops from Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea have been conducting offensives near the Shire for several days, raising an international alarm about human casualties from renewed fighting in Tigray.
Tiglayan’s statement said many civilians had been killed or injured in shelling by rivals and hundreds of thousands had fled.
– “Warning Levels” of Violence –
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the situation was “spinning out of control”.
The European Union, the US and the AU also urgently call for an end to the fighting that threatens the stability of the continent’s second most populous country and the Horn of Africa.
UN statistics show that countless civilians have been killed in the last two years, an estimated two million people have been displaced and millions more are in need of assistance.
– “Risk of escalation” –
But he accused the TPLF of colluding with unnamed “hostile foreign forces” and said it would pursue “defensive measures” including control of all airports and other federal facilities in the region.
But Volker Turk, the UN’s new High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned of a “grave risk of escalation” as more troops and soldiers are mobilized.
At least 31 civilians, including children, have been killed and 73 injured in 14 airstrikes by the Ethiopian Air Force since August 31, said UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, the agency said. said it was documented.
“Under international law, indiscriminate attacks or attacks that deliberately target civilians or civilian objects constitute war crimes,” Turk said.
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first published as Ethiopia says government forces have seized three towns in Tigre
Ethiopia says government forces have seized three towns in Tigre
Source link Ethiopia says government forces have seized three towns in Tigre