Ethiopian PM vows to push ahead with secret military action in Tigray despite calls for restraint

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed 

Credit: EB/AFP via Getty Images

Abiy Ahmed, the Nobel Peace prize-winning prime minister of Ethiopia, showed no sign Thursday of halting a secretive military campaign in the Tigray region, despite international pressure to avert civil war.

Shelling and shooting was reportedly heard in the state since the early hours of Thursday and nearly two dozen soldiers had been treated at a clinic.

It was not clear which side of the conflict the injured troops were drawn from. Federal troops and regional forces clashed in the northern region on Wednesday, after Mr Abiy ordered them to respond to an alleged attack on government forces in the region by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The TPLF was the dominant political force in Ethiopia’s multi-ethnic ruling coalition for decades, but quit after Mr Abiy took office two years ago and reorganised the coalition into a single party.

Countries in the region fear that the crisis could escalate into civil war under Mr Abiy, who won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for ending a decades-old conflict with neighbouring Eritrea but has had to contend with outbreaks of ethnic unrest.

Tigray regional map, Ethiopia

Tensions with the TPLF have been escalating since September, when Tigray held regional elections in defiance of the federal government, which called the vote "illegal".

Both sides have accused each other of plotting a military conflict in recent days. Sources said efforts were underway behind the scenes to encourage talks, pushed by the African Union, but the initiative was being resisted by authorities in Addis Ababa.

Mr Abiy first announced the military operations in Tigray Wednesday morning. He said the move came in response to an "attack" by the region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), on a military camp there.

But a senior Tigrayan official said yesterday that the "attack" never happened. Speaking on state television Wednesday night, Mr Abiy said there would be further operations in the "coming days".

"In general, when the operations are finished we will disclose them to the public," he said. Mr Abiy said the initial "attack" produced "many martyrs", but officials have not provided much information on subsequent military operations.

The fighting in Tigray has drawn expressions of concern from the UN, the US and the EU.

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted: "We are deeply concerned by reports that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front carried out attacks on Ethiopian National Defense Force bases in Ethiopia’s Tigray region."