Image Released, Getty Images
Militiamen fighting alongside federal forces in Ethiopia
More than six thousand Ethiopians arrived in Sudan to escape the fighting in the Tigray region, according to Sudanese officials.
And the authorities in Sudan expect that about 200,000 Ethiopians will flee to him in the coming days, as the fighting continues.
On the level of fighting in Tigray, the Ethiopian state radio said that the army had killed 550 fighters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray, as the conflict continued in the far north of the country.
No other neutral sources have confirmed this news.
This comes at a time when reports indicate hundreds of deaths on both sides.
As a refugee camp is being prepared to accommodate people fleeing the fighting, aid agencies have warned of a looming humanitarian crisis.
And Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed decided to carry out a military operation in the Tigray region against local leaders who had defied the central government.
The battles raised fears of a civil war.
The official news agency in Sudan “SUNA”, citing sources in the Sudanese Refugee Commission, said that more than 200,000 people from Ethiopia are expected to arrive in Gedaref State in the coming days.
The agency also indicated that the state of Kassala has begun to put in place the necessary arrangements to receive the wave of refugee influxes.
Earlier, Al-Sir Khaled, an official at the UNHCR in Kassala state, told Reuters that the number was increasing around the clock.
He added, “These people need shelter, medical treatment and food, and there is a great shortage,” warning that “if the conflict continues, we expect an increase in the flow of refugees.”
The Ethiopian authorities announced that they would not hold any peace talks with the local government of the region, unless they destroyed all military equipment, released federal officials, and arrested the region’s leaders.
Tigrayans say the Abe government persecutes them, discriminates against them, and acts arbitrarily in postponing national elections.
There are fears that the country will descend into civil war due to the intense hostility between the Tigrayans and Abiy Ahmed, who are descended from the Oromo tribes, the largest in Ethiopia.
Image Released, Getty Images
Ethiopians in Washington demanding an end to the war in Tigray.
The leader of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, Debrecion Gebimichael, on Tuesday accused the neighboring Eritrean government of launching attacks on the region.
However, the Eritrean government and the Ethiopian National Army denied the accusation.
A spokesman for the Federal Government’s Emergency Committee, Radwan Hussain, said Tuesday that there is still potential for dialogue between the government and the Tigray authorities.
However, he said, “The weapons that were said to have been seized by the forces loyal to the Tigrayan Liberation Front, must be rescued, the individuals held by the Tigrayans, and those who launched the attacks must be brought to justice.”
The Ethiopian Federal Police said that 17 soldiers – including senior officials – are accused of participating in a conspiracy, when it was allegedly attacked – the Northern Military Command last week.
Officials were said to have disrupted communications between the leadership and the rest of the national armed forces.
It was not clear if the suspects responded to the charges.
