[ad_1]
11/09/2020 Ethiopia (International Christian Concern) – As tensions escalated in Ethiopia’s Tigray region over the weekend, humanitarian workers and observers around the world, including the United Nations, drew attention to the impact that the conflict could have on the civilian population of the region. With less than 5% of Ethiopia’s total population, Tigray is home to around 5 million individuals. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that more than 10% of that number are currently in need of food aid, while others warn that the number could increase significantly if the conflict continues.
The conflict stems from the demands of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a political party, for the Tigray region to gain autonomy from the rest of Ethiopia. The TPLF had, until recently, ruled the country and, in September, held regional elections challenging Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s insistence on postponing all elections to 2021.
The escalation from unauthorized elections to the armed conflict began last week with federal troops massing at the Tigray border and regional troops raiding a federal military base for weapons. Since then, the conflict has reportedly claimed hundreds of lives on both sides and led to continued air strikes on the region.
Ahmed shuffled the top tiers of the federal government, replacing the incumbent foreign minister, intelligence chief and army chief with his close allies. Ahmed heads a coalition government and appears to be consolidating his power in response to events in Tigray.
The ICC continues to monitor this situation and others in the country. Violence in Ethiopia appears to be political and ethnic in nature without clear shades of religious persecution. But whatever the underlying cause, innocent civilians are dying and the government has not taken sufficient measures to protect its citizens.
Source link
