JUBA – The Ethiopian ambassador to South Sudan Nebil Mehdi Abdullahi on Saturday warned that the rebellious Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is preparing for what he said would be a third round of war during farming season and accused the insurgent group of ‘punishing’ the people of Tigray region.
Speaking to reporters during a press conference at the Ethiopian embassy in Juba on Saturday, Amb. Mehdi warned that the third round of war will extremely affect agricultural activities and further exacerbate the already worsening humanitarian situation in the Tigray region.
“At the same time their (TPLF) agenda is punishing the people of Tigray, they are claiming that they stand for people of Tigray but on the other side; they are punishing Tigray through starvation by always repeating attack during farming season,” Amb. Mehdi said.
“In Ethiopia, this is a farming season and if the farmers miss this farming season, they will not have any product later,” the top Ethiopian envoy in the country added.
Amb. Mehdi said the federal government in Addis Ababa is committed to peace, but accused the TPLF of beating drums of war.
“TPLF is now engaging in destabilizing Ethiopia by the support of enemies of Ethiopia. TPLF renewed attack amid the peace and tension continue to intensify in northern Ethiopia,” he said.
Abdullahi claimed the rebel group is mobilizing Tigray youth for yet another round of destructive war.
“TLPF has been forcefully recruiting young people and preparing them for third round. TPLF is engaging in third round of conflict,” he said.
Amb. Medhi further stressed the need for international community to engage the rebel group to denounce forceful recruitment of young people into rebel movement.
“These recruitments of children for war are internationally forbidden. The international community need to condemn this act. TPLF must be prevented from disturbing the peace and livelihood of Ethiopian and destroying the country because the agenda of TPLF is to destroy and destabilized Ethiopia and the whole region,” he said.
Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, has seen devastating conflict between government-allied troops and forces loyal to TPLF since November 2020 which has left millions of people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in the far north.
Both TPLF and PP (Abiy’s party) don’t want the war to end. TPLF starting from its creation need war to survive, that is absolutely true. Sometimes I thinks of them (TPLF not people of Tigray) as devils, but later when I see what they do I conclude that they completely outdo and outperform devil himself. I honestly don’t have any words to describe them.
Mr. Abiy need the war to keep his position as a leader of Ethiopia. He already lost Oromos (his own ethnicity who are the largest in Ethiopia), and the only reason he still stayed in power is due to the support he got from Amhara politicians (the second largest). I didn’t say the people of Amhara, but their politicians. These politicians were the ones that collaborate with TPLF (Tigrians) for the last 27 years, and they are solely responsible for the suffering of their people for almost 3 decades. When Abiy (Oromos) come to power they change their jersey and sing Oromuma, and now they are responsible for daily murdering of their people in Oromia by either PP, Shene, OLA or OLF, whatever their name is they are all Oromos. If the war is over these puppets and Mr. Abiy himself can’t lead their people, so their only option is to keep the war going.