The Ethiopian parliament passed a state of emergency

During the discussion, the parliamentarians agreed on the necessity of approving the measure, noting the seriousness of the crimes committed by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front forces and its affiliates in separate areas of the region.

Earlier in the week, the government decreed a state of emergency to protect the citizens of the TPLF and safeguard the unity of the nation, according to Justice Minister Gideon Timoteos, at a press conference.

For his part, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed in a message to the people that the goal is a quick solution to the unstable situation in the northern part of the country.

Ahmed said: We must overcome the circumstances, and we have to live our lives according to reality so that our problems can be resolved soon.

In connection with this decision, which was adopted after an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers, anyone suspected of having a strong connection with members of the Tigray Liberation Front can be arrested without an arrest warrant.

In addition, among many other measures, security forces may conduct indiscriminate raids and confiscate unregistered weapons, while any publication will be banned if its texts show any moral support for the organization.

To some observers, the alliance of the TPLF with the Oromo Liberation Front, considered a radical and influential opposition group, decided that the government would implement a state of emergency.

Others point out that the main factor is the danger that the forces of that organization will advance towards the capital, after the statement of the Front’s spokesman, Getachew Reda, who confirmed that the group had captured Kombolcha and Disi, the two strategic cities in the regional state of Amhara.

Federal authorities acknowledged the attempt to enter Disi and other places, but asserted that the invaders had not taken control of any public institution and that the cities were still in the hands of Ethiopian security.

On the night of November 3, 2020, the TPLF attacked the northern command of the National Defense Forces, and in response, the next morning the Prime Minister ordered the deployment of forces to restore constitutional order.

In less than 30 days, the federal army entered Mikkeli, the capital of the region, but the leaders and members of the group fled and began the process of reorganization in the adjacent areas.

The Front took advantage of the armistice period issued by the government last June to return to the region, in addition to extending its conflict to the Afar and Amhara regions.

mgt / raj