The Ethiopian military has accused the World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of supporting Tigray forces by trying to procure arms and diplomatic support for Tigray state’s dominant political party, which is fighting the federal troops.
In a televised statement, Ethiopian army chief of staff, General Berhanu Jula said, “This man [Mr Ghebreyesus] is a member of that group and he has been doing everything to support them.
“He has worked in neighbouring countries to condemn the war. He has worked for them to get weapons.”
Berhanu added that the WHO chief had “left no stone unturned” to help the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), the party Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said the federal forces are targeting in a military offensive in the region.
“What do you expect from him [Tedros]? We don’t expect he will side with the Ethiopian people and condemn them,” Berhanu said.
Mr Ghebreyesus is an Ethiopian of Tigrayan descent who served as health minister in a former government coalition led by the TPLF.
The 55-year-old was appointed as the first African head of the WHO in 2017 and has become a household name as a result of the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. He has been ranked as one of Time magazine’s most influential people in 2020. The WHO is yet to respond to the accusation.
Abiy, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, accuses the TPLF, which dominated power for 30 years before his appointment in 2018, of seeking to destabilise his government.
In the statement, the government also accused Tigrayan forces of committing “serious crimes” after conflict broke out this month in the northern region, killing hundreds and sending 30,000 refugees into neighbouring Sudan.
Information from all sides during the conflict has been impossible to verify because internet and phone connections to Tigray have been suspended and the government has restricted access to the area.
“As we enter the final phase of law enforcement operations against this group, we would like to remind the leaders of this group that the atrocities that have been committed by their forces and loyalists in places like Maykadra [a town in Tigray] constitute serious crimes both under Ethiopian and international law,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Tigray region, Debretsion Gebremichael has said the town of Axum remains in their hands though another locality, Shire, had fallen to federal troops seeking to close in on the state capital, Mekelle.
“Shire has fallen three days back but Axum is with us, but there is an army sent to control Axum, but there is a fight,” Mr Gebremichael said.
Several international bodies and heads of states have advocated an end to the conflict and a return to the negotiation table.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said, “A war in Ethiopia would give the entire continent a bad image. There should be negotiations and the conflict stopped, lest it leads to unnecessary loss of lives and cripples the economy,” he tweeted.
Antony Blinken, the foreign policy adviser to US President-elect, Joe Biden, also called for more protection for civilians.
“Deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, reports of targeted ethnic violence, and the risk to regional peace and security. The TPLF and Ethiopian authorities should take urgent steps to end the conflict, enable humanitarian access, and protect civilians,” he tweeted.
