Ethiopian rebels accuse federal forces of violating truce

ADDIS ABABA – The rebellious Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has accused the Ethiopian federal forces of violating the humanitarian truce that was declared in March, saying airplanes and tanks have bombed TPLF military positions near the border with Afar.

The government in Addis Ababa declared a ceasefire to allow humanitarian supply reach Tigray region. The TPLF, the rebel group controlling the northern Tigray regional state, then followed and declared humanitarian truce.

The ceasefire has since held with the World Food Programme saying in June that it has averted one of the worse hungers in the war-hit region.

In a statement on Wednesday, the TPLF military claimed that the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) launched attack on its base in Western Tigray region with air bombardment, heavy artilleries and tank, but said it did not return fire to avoid escalation.

“Be that as it may, on August 15, 2022 around 4 PM local time, the Ethiopian National Defense Force, which claims to have built an impregnable fortress in Western Tigray, bombarded Tigray Army forces around Dedebit for an hour with heavy artilleries and tanks while they were engaged in their routine defensive activities,” the TPLF military statement said.

“Tigray’s Military Command, having ensured no return fire from our side and after patiently investigating whether the violation of the cessation of hostilities agreement was the result of the actions of the local commander or an intentional act sanctioned at the highest level of government, has ascertained that it was a deliberate act authorized at the highest level,” it added.

The statement said that “Ethiopian leaders have intensified their coordinated military and political scheme to deprive Tigray of Western Tigray for good with the violation of the cessation of hostilities agreement. Tigray’s Military Command has realized that such actions are making force the only viable route for the Government of Tigray to liberate Western Tigray as well as repatriate our displaced people to their homes.”

“Noting that whatever assessment that led the Ethiopian government to take this action is erroneous and its viable option remains peace and a sincere commitment to peace, Tigray’s Military Command would like to let the entire Ethiopian people as well as political actors in the country; the Ethiopian military; and the international diplomatic community know that the Government of Ethiopia, which has declared war on the people of Tigray and has committed genocide, will be solely responsible for the eruption of a second round of war that will lead to the total destruction of the country.”