JOHANNESBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2021) Ensuring peace in the conflict-torn Ethiopian province of Tigray is the responsibility of the government, Ethiopian Ambassador to South Africa Shiferaw Teklemariam Menbacho told Sputnik.
The fighting in the province broke out in November, after the Ethiopian government accused the local ruling party � Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) � of attacking a regional military base to hijack weapons and arm the anti-government militia. Roughly 40,000 Ethiopian citizens have fled to Sudan following the beginning of the conflict.
"Tigray Regional State and the people of Tigray are part and parcel of Ethiopia. Modern history of Ethiopia and constitutions assert the same. Therefore the Federal government of Ethiopia; per the constitutional mandate and rule law, has an obligation to ensure peace, democracy and prosperity among others...in Tigray regional states as well as other states in the country," the diplomat said.
The TPLF is suspected of treason, terrorism, and crimes against the constitutional order, the diplomat said, citing the country's attorney general. The government's military operation in the region aims to restore law and order, the ambassador explained.
"The major reason for fighting is [that] TPLF wants to maintain its old-fashioned impunity and dominance in Ethiopian governance," the diplomat said.
The government took precautions to reduce any negative impact of the operation and is working with the United Nations and other organizations to help residents of Tigray, the ambassador remarked.
