Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is calling on Tigray region fighters to surrender and turn themselves in, to Ethiopian authorities or face the wrath of his army.
Abiy's warning came moments after Ethiopia's military spokesperson announced that the army plans to decisively end the three-week-long territorial conflict by laying siege to the Tigray capital, Mekelle.
Colonel Dejene Tsegaye told Ethiopia's national broadcaster that his forces will "encircle Mekelle using tanks."
“We want to send a message to the public in Mekelle to save yourselves from any artillery attacks and free yourselves from the junta … After that, there will be no mercy,” Colonel Tsegaye added.
Already, Ethiopian forces claim to have seized the town of Idaga Hamus, 97km away from a Mekelle, according to a statement released today by a government task force. Tigray's leaders continue to deny the claim saying Ethiopian forces "couldn't move an inch."
Plans to carry out the siege are already underway in the likelihood Tigray forces refuse to surrender.
According to Aljazeera journalist Mohammed Adow, who's on the ground covering the conflict, Ethiopia has "been dropping leaflets on the capital, Mekelle, telling civilians who remain to be nowhere near military installations."
Already, humanitarian groups project that hundreds to thousands of civilians have died since fighting erupted on Nov. 4 following a Tigray led attack on Ethiopian soldiers in the town of Dansha.
Roughly 30,000 people have been forced to flee to neighbouring Sudan. The U.N warns that the already battered war-torn country is on the brink of another humanitarian crisis
“It’s not good. There is no water. The stuff here is very expensive... There is no food, water, shelter. We have little kids with us, they are starving here,” one Ethiopian refugee said.
The African Union and Ethiopia have urged both warring sides, who once lived peacefully together prior to the attack, to call a truce. But leaders from both parties have refused to hold peace talks.
“We urge you to surrender peacefully within 72 hours, recognizing that you are at the point of no return,”Prime Minister Abiy said. "The government will take maximum restraint not to cause major risks for civilians,” Redwan Hussein, spokesman for the government’s task force on Tigray, added.
Tigray forces have so far shown no intent to surrender. Instead, its leaders said troops were digging trenches and standing firm.
By: Niza Nondo
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