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By the United African Congress
We are deeply troubled by the escalation of violence following Ethiopian Premier Abiy Ahmed’s declaration of war on the regional state of Tigray on November 4, 2020. We are New York-based pan-African humanitarian and defense organizations representing the interests of Africa and Africans in the diaspora in the United States and around the world.
This conflict has the potential to spiral out of control into a large-scale civil war, which could attract neighboring counters. As Martin Plaut, former editor of BBC Africa, told Aljazeera on November 8: “It is impossible to be certain of Eritrea’s role in Ethiopia’s internal conflict. Since the two leaders’ first mutual visits to the capitals in July 2018, there has never been a press conference in which reporters could ask either Prime Minister Abiy or President Isaias what they hoped to achieve. However, it is clear that relations today are so close that it is inconceivable that the Ethiopian leader has undertaken such an important operation, on the border with Eritrea, without having cleared it with his opposite “.
There are now unconfirmed reports of Eritrean troops crossing the border into Ethiopia in support of the Abiy military offensive in Tigray. This development is threatening as it could engulf the Horn of Africa and countries along the Red Sea in conflict, with implications for peace and security in Africa and the Middle East. It is no longer an internal Ethiopian issue.
Concerned about developments in Ethiopia, the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), which includes the countries of the Horn of Africa, the Nile Valley and the African Great Lakes, issued a statement calling for the easing of tensions and the resolution of their differences through dialogue and reconciliation. On 7 November, the representative of the European Union also expressed concern for the integrity of the country and the stability of the entire region and called for an easing of tensions.
In his letter to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current president of the African Union Commission, Dr Debretsion Gebremichael, president of the regional state of Tigray, expressed his firm belief that political problems cannot be solved by military means. He adds “the AU has a responsibility and is in a better position to help all political and civic stakeholders in the country in an all-encompassing and comprehensive dialogue to avoid an all out civil war in the country.”
Premier Abiy has so far rejected all appeals for the cessation of hostilities. In addition to the large-scale ground military offensive, air strikes are carried out on major cities in Tigray. Thousands of civilians are reportedly fleeing to neighboring Sudan.
Aid agencies, including UNHCR, are having difficulty getting to Tigray, which is completely sealed off by Dr Abiy with the internet cut off. Tigray is also home to around 100,000 refugees from Eritrea. A humanitarian crisis may be underway.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren called for an immediate reduction in violence and the provision of immediate humanitarian assistance to civilians in the Tigray region. It calls for inclusive dialogue between all parties in Ethiopia to protect the rights of all Ethiopian citizens to participate in free and fair elections. We cannot agree more.
As for Africans concerned in the diaspora and as friends of Ethiopia, we in the United Africa Congress (AUC) and our partners call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and strongly urge both sides to engage in peaceful dialogue to resolve what it is essentially a political problem.
Recognizing the conflict as a threat to international peace and security, we call on the United Nations Security Council to call an emergency meeting to call for an immediate ceasefire and to urge the parties to engage in peaceful dialogue.
We also call on the African Union to take a more active role in mediation efforts aimed at a peaceful resolution to stop the needless carnage that could easily spread into a wider regional conflagration.
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Dr. Mohammed A Nurhussein,
National President, United African Congress, New York
Gordon Tapper President,
United African Congress, New York
Stephanie Evans,
Executive Director, Give Them a Hand Foundation, New York
Milton Allimadi,
Founder and publisher, Black Star News, New York
Dr. Ron Daniels,
President Institute of the Black World 21st Century and Convener, Pan African Unity Dialogue. New York
Mamadou Niang,
Managing Director Next Media.tv, New York
Pierre Sané,
Executive President and Editor, Imagine Africa Institute, Dakar, Sénégal
Cheikh Niang,
CEO, CTN Avia, Miami, Florida
IBW21 (The Institute of the Black World 21st Century) is committed to building the ability of black communities in the United States to work for social, political, economic and cultural betterment, development of the global black community and a better quality of life for all marginalized people.
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