Ethiopian Prime Minister Urges Armed Groups Linked To Tigray Rebels To Surrender

Sumaira FH Published November 30, 2021 | 05:46 PM

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday urged all armed groups linked to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) to surrender, claiming that government forces are close to victory

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2021) Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday urged all armed groups linked to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) to surrender, claiming that government forces are close to victory.

"The terrorist TPLF has been completely defeated, and it is a matter of time to conclude the struggle successfully," Ahmed said, as quoted by the state-owned Fana Broadcasting Corporation.

Last Friday, the prime minister announced the return of state control over the Asayita settlement in the northeastern Afar region, and called for the military to continue fighting the TPLF.

The Ethiopian parliament declared a six-month state of emergency throughout the country in early November as TPLF forces advanced toward the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

An Ethiopian opposition alliance was signed in Washington earlier this month, according to Western media reports. The TPLF and eight other factions, some of which are considered terrorist by Addis Ababa, joined forces to oust the incumbent government and establish transitional authority, media said.

The Ethiopian government and the TPLF, which had dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades, have been locked in conflict over control of the north of the country since November 2020, when the central authorities accused the Tigray rebels of attacking a local state-owned military base. The Ethiopian government launched an operation in Tigray with the support of neighboring Eritrea.

In the spring of 2021, Ethiopian authorities announced the withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Tigray. In June, the rebels took control of the administrative center of the region, Mekelle. Despite the government declaring an unconditional ceasefire, the rebels soon launched a new offensive, taking control of part of Tigray and invading the neighboring Amhara region.