Ethiopia on Thursday demanded that the United States (US) stop spreading “false information” about the war in Tigray after the US issued an alert on Tuesday about possible “terrorist attacks” in the capital.
Ethiopian government spokesperson Kebede Desisa condemned the US government for disseminating “shameful fake news and defamation regarding Ethiopia.” Desisa was referring to a US embassy statement warning American citizens in the country to be vigilant against “the ongoing possibility of terrorist attacks in Ethiopia.” The embassy warned that attacks could be launched on diplomatic facilities, tourist hotspots, shopping malls, restaurants, and other public areas.
Desisa said that Ethiopia’s war is not only against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels but also “with [the] colonialism of the powerful states of the West.”
Also Read: The Tigray Conflict Cannot Be Resolved So Long as Both Sides See Themselves Winning
Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators marched on the American and British embassies in Addis Ababa to protest against foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs. They accused foreign governments of plotting to “dismantle” Ethiopia’s sovereignty and called on US President Joe Biden to “revise his foreign policy.”
Ethiopia has accused Western governments, especially the US, of blaming the Ethiopian government for the crisis in Tigray and for being lenient on the TPLF rebels. The US and the West have accused the Ethiopian government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of blocking aid to the Tigray region, committing human rights abuses, and ethnic cleansing of Tigrayans. The US has also demanded that the Ethiopian government end the hostilities and allow an independent international investigation into human rights abuses committed by armed forces.
Also Read: Ethiopian PM Abiy’s Strategy of Exaggerating Gains in the Tigray War is Doomed to Fail
Ethiopia, on the other hand, has called on the US and other actors not to interfere in the country’s internal affairs. Last month, Ethiopia expelled seven United Nations officials, including the heads of UNICEF and OCHA, for “interfering” in Ethiopia’s domestic affairs. The following month Ethiopian authorities arrested around 20 UN staffers for allegedly supporting terrorists.
Countries including the US, France, Germany, Ireland, and Turkey have urged their citizens to leave Ethiopia immediately following claims made by TPLF rebels that they are marching towards Addis Ababa in a bid to overthrow Abiy’s government. Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency in response and has called on citizens to join the army to defend their country.
Abiy announced earlier this week that he was personally going to the battlefront to support and direct the army against any attack. “The time has come to lead the country with sacrifice,” he said, adding that “those who want to be among the Ethiopian children who will be hailed by history, rise up for your country today. Let’s meet at the battlefront.”
Ethiopia has been in the middle of a severe humanitarian and political crisis since November last year, when PM Abiy ordered a military response to an attack on a federal army camp in Tigray by the TPLF, declared a “terrorist” organisation. The fighting quickly boiled over into a full-scale armed invasion by Ethiopian troops, who partnered with Eritrean soldiers in their operation.
The conflict in Tigray has killed thousands and displaced over two million and has witnessed grave human rights violations, including mass killings, rapes, and deliberate starvation. Both the Ethiopian government and the TPLF have accused each other of committing atrocities.