However, it emphasised that ownership of federal sites in the northern Tigray region. The Ethiopian government reiterated its desire to participate in peace negotiations.
This came after the African Union demanded that the fights begin “immediately.”
The government said it was “obliged to take defensive measures to protect the country’s sovereignty and the integrity of its territory in the face of” repeated attacks “by the rebel authorities in Tigray, which it described as” active in “anti -foreign forces.
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The federal authorities indicated in a statement that “it is necessary for the Ethiopia government to restore immediate control over all other federal airports and installations in the” Tigray region, to “protect the country’s sovereignty and the integrity of its territory,” and said that it “is determined to a peaceful solution to the conflict through peace talks sponsored by the Union African”.
Musa Faki Mohamed, the head of the African Union Commission, demanded a “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” and expressed his “grave worry” about reports of escalating violence in Tigray.
In response, the “People’s Liberation Front” stated that it would abide by a “immediate pause for combat operations” and urged the international community to take action to compel the Eritrean army to leave Tigray, as well as to put pressure on the Ethiopian government to engage in negotiations.
Journalist entry into northern Ethiopia has been mostly barred since the crisis started in November 2020.
After a five-month period of peace, fighting resumed last August, shattering expectations for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, which had claimed a significant number of civilian lives and been marred by atrocities.
The United Nations reports that millions of people were forced to flee their homes in large numbers as a result of the increased fighting, and that hundreds of thousands were on the verge of starvation.
The end of last week, the United Nations, the United States and the European Union expressed concerns about the situation in Tigray after the shelling of the town of Sher, 40 km south of the Ethiopian border with Eritrea.
The war in the Tigray region resulted in “damages to civilians, including humanitarian workers,” which the Ethiopian government expressed “sad regret” for.
Unknown is how the deadly struggle in Tigray will turn out, but the United Nations reports that it has uprooted more than two million people and forced thousands of Ethiopians into famine-like conditions.
Author: “AFP.”
The Ethiopian government declares its ready for a dialogue on Tigray under certain conditions.
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