MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2020) World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has rejected allegations of him supporting rebels in the Tigray region in his native Ethiopia, saying that he stands on the "side of peace."
Earlier, the chief of General Staff of Ethiopia's armed forces, Gen. General Berhanu Jula, has accused Tedros, an Ethiopian of Tigrayan descent, of attempting to solicit military support for the restive northern region of Tigray.
"There have been reports suggesting I am taking sides in this situation. This is not true and I want to say that I am on only one side and that is the side of peace," Tedros said in a statement on Thursday.
The secretary-general noted that his "heart breaks" for his home country amid reports of casualties and an exodus of refugees. He also voiced concerns over the impact the hostilities would have on health amid the pandemic.
"As a child I have seen the destructive nature of war. I recall vividly the fighting, and the terrible human toll. As an adult, I have used that first-hand experience to always work for peace, to bring warring parties together and to start dialogue to broker peace," he stated.
Tedros, therefore, urged both sides to work for peace.
The fighting in Ethiopia's north broke out in early November after the Federal government accused the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the ruling party in the region, of attacking a military base and launched a security operation against it. The ensuing clashes, which have pushed over 30,000 refugees to neighboring Sudan, prompted international fears of a new civil war in Ethiopia.
