“…Peace, not war, has always been our choice. Even at this moment, war is not our choice” says TPLF in an quick response to Ethiopian government declaration of humanitarian truce
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Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government on Thursday declared a “humanitarian truce” in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
The Decision came just a day after the United States’ Special Envoy to Horn of Africa , David Satterfield, visited the country and met with Ethiopian Authorities.
The Ethiopian government, however, projected its decision in a way to make them appear like a response to the emerging new humanitarian situation in the region.
The statement from Government Communication Affairs partly reads “… currently thousands from the Tigray region are trekking into neighboring regions in search of assistance. While it is heartening to see the fraternal bond and solidarity that is being demonstrated by communities that are receiving and helping those in need of assistance, the Government believes that the situation warrants urgent measures to ensure that those in need are able to receive aid in their localities. Alleviating the plight of those affected by the conflict is of the utmost priority and a responsibility that the Government takes seriously. ”
And then it went on to say “Cognizant of the need to take extraordinary measures to save lives and reduce human suffering, the Government of Ethiopia hereby declares an indefinite humanitarian truce effective immediately.”
Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) responded to the declaration within hours it was announced. Getachew Reda, spokesperson, and Foreign Relation of the organisation shared a statement from TPLF ( of the Government of Tigray as it describes itself) expressing acceptance of the truce.
“…Peace, not war, has always been our choice. Even at this moment war is not our choice,” Stated the statement claiming that it resorted to war out of lack of choice and expediency.
The war in Northern Ethiopia started when the TPLF unexpectedly attacked the Ethiopian Defence Force bases in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in November 2020, and the organisation admitted it when it said that it wanted to undertake a blitzkrieg attack.
The statement the TPLF released in reaction to the declaration of “humanitarian truce”, however, placed all the blame for the war on the Ethiopian government.
“…If the right circumstances arise for our people to receive the level of humanitarian assistance commensurate with needs on the ground, within a reasonable time frame, the Government of Tigray is committed to implementing a cessation of hostilities effective immediately,” The statement said.
Furthermore, it said that “The Government of Tigray will do everything it can to make sure that this cessation of hostilities is a success…”
The Federal government and Afar regional government had been accusing TPLF of blocking aid to the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Furthermore, the TPLF, apparently with coordination for aid organisations, diverted well over four hundred aid trucks for the purpose of transporting soldiers and logistics when it invaded the Afar and Amhara regions of Ethiopia in July and August 2021.
The war with TPLF brought claimed hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides although there was no official disclosure from the TPLF, which the Ethiopian Parliament declared as a terrorist organization, or from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
Millions of Ethiopians were displaced, many more millions including the Afar and Amhara regions of Ethiopia were exposed to a famine-like situation. Social infrastructure, including health and education facilities, have been destroyed.
Recently, there were rumors of secret negotiation between Ethiopian government and TPLF in the neighboring Kenya which the former has been denying.
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The post PM Abiy Ahmed’s gov’t declares a unilateral humanitarian truce. TPLF accepted it instantly appeared first on Borkena Ethiopian News.