Ethiopian embassy wants TPLF group held accountable for ‘re-igniting’ war

The Ethiopian Embassy in Uganda has accused the TPLF group of re-igniting conflict in Ethiopia and wants the group condemned and held accountable.

It should be remembered that the Ethiopian government sent troops to Tigray in November 2020, a move it said was aimed at countering the TPLF attacks on army camps and the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar.

The war which has left tens of thousands killed and millions displaced in Afar, Amhara and Tigray region has in the past weeks reemerged, following reports of fresh attacks by the TPLF group since August 24, 2022.

On Thursday, the Ethiopian Embassy in Uganda issued a statement, accusing and condemning the TPLF group for turning its back to the calls and confidence building measures that have been taken by the government for the peaceful settlement of the conflict by launching fresh attacks.

”The TPLF, whose preparation for the potential hostilities were disclosed, re-launched the attack despite the Ethiopian government revealed its readiness to negotiate without precondition and the FDRE main peace committee unveiled peace proposal in which it expressed its readiness for a negotiated ceasefire, an in-depth political dialogue for a lasting settlement and addressing pending issues through the national dialogue,” the embassy statement partly reads.

The embassy further stated that the TPLF group has been abusing the government’s efforts for peaceful settlement of the conflict repeatedly, something it said is posing threat to the national security.

“When the government declared a unilateral ceasefire on June 2021, the TPLF escalated the conflict into the Amhara and Afar regions where it committed horrendous crimes on the civilians such as extra-judicial killings and executions,rapes and other forms of sexual violence, inflicting body harms, causing immeasurable property..” the embassy stated.

It is worth noting that after the June 2021 attacks, the Ethiopian government launched counter-offensive attacks on the TPLF, a move it said was after protecting the people by liberating the TPLF occupied territories in Amhara and Afar regions.

The embassy says that whereas, right after, the Ethiopian government declared indefinite humanitarian truce on March 2022 and expedited humanitarian aid to Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions, the group has again engaged itself in fresh attacks in the regions.

”The group’s track record of robbing and diverting humanitarian foods, trucks and fuels jeopardized the delivery of humanitarian assistance and exposed the people in the region to further suffering,”

In its statement, the embassy further accused accomplices and sympathisers of offering support to the TPLF group yet try to whitewash the group’s atrocities and shift the blame on the Ethiopian government.

According to the embassy, such actions by the accomplices are emboldening the group to further undermine the lives and peace of the people of Ethiopia in particular, and disrupting the stability in the region.

Despite the ongoing conflict, the embassy reaffirmed the Ethiopian government’s commitment in undertaking concrete measures against perpetrators of human rights violations.

This, it says is being done by implementing the recommendations of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) of UNOHCHR and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission through the Inter-Ministerial Task Force.

However, the embassy says the International Commission of Human Rights Experts in Ethiopia (ICHREE) was founded in a series of erroneous premises.

“The recent report of International Commission of Human Rights Experts in Ethiopia (ICHREE) is incomplete, incoherent, and unsubstantiated; it is a manifestly political statement issued under the guise of an ‘investigation report’, written in breach of all principles of professionalism, independence, impartiality,” the embassy says.

Now, the embassy wants the TPLF group held accountable for provoking the war and bleaching the peace settlement.

“While reiterating that the Ethiopia is committed for peaceful settlement of the conflict under the auspices of African Union and ensuring accountability for any human right violations, TPLF has to be held accountable for provoking the war, which it formally admitted, and reigniting and escalating the war.” stated the embassy.