BY TESFANEWS
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed authorized the National Defense Forces to start a military response against the renegade Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a governing party in the Tigray region after the group launched a surprise attack over the Northern Command from multiple fronts.
“TPLF opened attacks on the military camps of the Defense Force. The purpose was to loot military assets of the Northern command,” Prime Minister Abiy said in a post on Facebook.
The Northern Command has been stationed in the Tigray region for over twenty years to safeguard the people of Tigray from enemy attacks, and are still there on the same mission.
“The last point of the red line is crossed,” PM Abiy said in his message.
Under the command of a Command Post, the National Defense forces have now been ordered to carry out their mission and save the sovereignty of the country.
The PM said the use of force has become the last alternative. He called on the Ethiopian people to follow the situation calmly, monitor possible localized flare-ups, and stand with the national army.
“The government tried to avoid war, but war can’t be avoided by one side,” PM Abiy concludes.
Details of the alleged attack in Tigray were not immediately available as telephone and internet connections appeared to be disconnected in Tigray.
Earlier this week, the president of the Tigray regional state, Debretsion Gebremichal, announced the mobilization of militias and special forces for the imminent war with the Federal forces. The war, he said, would be “people’s war,” and that “Tigray would win the fight as was the case before.”
Ethiopian government officials this week accused the TPLF of supporting a militia group, the OLF-Shane, that it accuses of a massacre that killed at least 32 people.
On Tuesday, members of the nation’s House of Representatives called for the designation of the TPLF and the OLF-Shane as terrorist groups.
#BREAKING — #Ethiopia's Prime Minister @AbiyAhmedAli said the #TPLF rulers of the province of #Tigray have crossed the red line & attacked the Federal army's northern command in Tigray. The PM ordered the army to take all appropriate measures to defend the country's sovereignty. pic.twitter.com/fVaedvpVJU
— Elias Amare ኤልያስ ኣማረ (@EliasAmare) November 3, 2020
ከመግባባት ይልቅ ጠብ አጫሪነትን የሚያስቀድም ከሆነ፣ እንዲህ ዓይነት መንገድ ቀስ በቀስ ባለቤቱን ይዞ እንደሚጠፋ ግልጽ ነው። ብልጽግና የሠላምና የመደመር ውጤት እንጂ፤ በጦርነትና በውድመት የሚሳካ አይደለም። 2/2
— Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) October 20, 2020