“Starting tomorrow, I will mobilize to the front to lead the defense forces,” Abiy said in a statement posted Monday on Twitter.
The 45-year-old prime minister, a former soldier, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for ending hostilities with neighboring Eritrea. Since then, however, he has launched a devastating war in the Tigray region in the north, a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and prompted aid agencies to warn of impending famine.
Now, a coalition of rebels led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front — which dominated Ethiopia’s government for three decades before Abiy took power — is marching on the capital, Addis Ababa, and Abiy is billing the fight as an “existential war.”
“This is a time when leading a country with martyrdom is needed,” Abiy said in his statement after chairing an executive meeting of the ruling Prosperity Party.
“Those who want to be among the Ethiopian children, who will be hailed by history, rise up for your country today. Let’s meet at the front,” he said.
Defense Minister Abraham Belay also told state media Monday that “all security forces will start taking special measures and tactics as of tomorrow.” But he declined to elaborate, the Associated Press reported.
It was unclear where Abiy was headed in order to lead the troops. Earlier this month, rebels reached an area within 200 miles of Addis Ababa. The government declared a state of emergency and expelled seven United Nations officials from the country, accusing them of “meddling” in Ethiopia’s affairs.
The TPLF has said that it is seeking an end to the government blockade on the Tigray region but also wants Abiy to leave power.
“Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed heads to frontline to lead war against Tigray rebels”
That is what we are about after. Dr. John Garang bltiz the cloned so-called Arabs of North Sudan at the the Battle of Pachalla and Pibor and got away with it in 1985-86. Wars are fought by the people who know how fight wars. People die in wars. Abiy Ahmed is a terrorist, we are the Ethiopians fellows, we bombed most of these low lives from Domidola right up to Assosa and waned to march to Adis Ababa, Dr. John Garang in 1991, told us, to come back to Southern Sudan. There was a very superior boy Mengistu Haile Mariam, very honest boys.
Not every 10 years or 50 years and then South Sudan would loves always play or attached themselves to South Sudan and the South Sudanese people. WE HATE THE EVILS TO DEATHS.
HERE IN SOUTH SUDAN, WE HAVE LOW LOWLY INFORMED POLITICIANS, WHOSE AIM IS TO BE ETHIOPIANS, WE ARE THE ETHIOPIANS, and WILL NOT LIVE SIDE BY SIDE WITH cloned so-called Arabs of North Sudan, Abeshes prostitutes, Bantuses, evil juus so-called israelis) attack dogs, their gulf paymasters, evil white Americans, evil English people, their UN, their sleazy NGOs, their United mission in South Sudan (UNIMISS) of Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalese, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Irish. I am one of the boys who is going bomb Eastern Jerusalem, and give it to Palestinian people, Islam is not a religion, never has and will ever will will. Our people knows all these, but some of low our let our country and our people bullied nobodies.
Mr. Salva Kiir Mayrdit and his advisors have let our country and our people be bullied by low lives, we can just walk in a matter of week and pee. .
Let the evils bring their rubbish again South Sudan, North Sudan, our Egypt on the disguise of the *UN AGENDA 21, UN NEW WORLD ODER GOVERNMENT, GOVERNMENT WITH BORDERS, AFRICAN UNITY and the REGIONAL INTEGRATION, HUMANITARIAN AIDS, DONATIONS, United mission in South (UNMISS) OF Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Nepalese, SrI Lankans, Rwandans. Nigerians and all* That is not going to happen under the sun or even in million years, reasons, pure HATRED and RACISM>>>
Abbey is a joker.as a leader and nobel prizer winner should sit down,talk and find solution.he cant win war in Ethiopia .he has arrested Tigrinya ,oromos and few somali people.he should think like pm not like junta.tdf r stronger,organized with modern weapons.if he step out of adis ababa am sure he will be overthrown by his general like in sudan.