TPLF wants ‘peaceful’ end to Ethiopian conflict after admitting it started war

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia’s rebellious Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has said that it is for a peaceful settlement to the ongoing Ethiopian conflict despite still being in control of some parts of the regional state of Afar where thousands of innocent civilians are still being displaced by the rebel group’s presence.

This comes a few days after the group’s spokesman and senior member Getachew K. Reda admitted that the rebel movement started the conflict in 2020 by attempting to disarm the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF).

The senior rebel official claimed that the Ethiopian federal government was about to wage war on the Tigray government which was elected in polls not accepted by the federal government.

In a statement Thursday night, the TPLF said the group has always been for peaceful solutions to all differences in the Ethiopian community and despite being “forced” to conflict, it was ready to use peaceful mean to end the war ink Ethiopia.

“The people and Government of Tigray have always had a clear stance on the peaceful resolution of the current conflict. We have from the get-go made it clear to friends and foes alike that all political problems should be resolved through peaceful means,” the TPLF statement declaring the cessation of hostility agreement said.

“This is not just because we believe peace to be a matter of survival but also because we have made every effort to bring it about. In short, the people and Government of Tigray have always expressed their willingness and readiness to resolve the situation facing us peacefully; over the past four years, we have repeatedly conveyed this message to all relevant stakeholders,” the statement added.

It claimed that the group was, 17 months ago, “forced to enter into a war to ensure our very survival because all peaceful avenues for the resolution of political problems were closed off, and because a vicious military campaign has been initiated to exterminate the people of Tigray.

“In general, peace, not war has always been our choice. Even at the moment, war is not our choice. While our people should have received humanitarian assistance provided by the international community without any obstruction, virtually no aid has been allowed into Tigray on account of the blockade of Tigray.

“The restoration of telecommunication and banking services, among other things, very simple steps for the Abiy government to undertake, would have saved countless lives.”