Ethiopian rebel leader dismisses surrender deadline, says forces ‘ready to die’ for homeland
The leader of rebels in Ethiopia’s volatile Tigray region has dismissed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s deadline for their surrender within three days, saying his forces are “ready to die” defending their homeland.
Debretsion Gebremichael, leader of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), made the statement on Monday.
Ahmed called on the rebels on Sunday to surrender peacefully within 72 hours.
“He doesn’t understand who we are. We are people of principle and ready to die in defense of our right to administer our region,” Gebremichael said, adding that the Ethiopian premier was trying to cover for setbacks his army had suffered against the TPLF, and was issuing threats to buy time.
The Ethiopian government said federal forces were encircling Mekele, Tigray’s capital, after giving the TPLF the surrender ultimatum.
“The beginning of the end is within reach,” said government spokesman Redwan Hussein.
Brigadier General Tesfaye Ayalew also announced that that federal troops were “marching into Mekele” after they captured key towns to the north and south.
The army has threatened a ‘no mercy’ tank assault on the TPLF leadership in Mekele, warning civilians to leave while they still can.
Tigray has been engulfed in bloody fighting since November 4, when Ahmed announced the launch of military operations against the regional government there.
The announcement led to a dramatic escalation of a long-running feud between the federal government and the TPLF, the Tigray’s ruling party, which dominated Ethiopian politics for almost three decades before Ahmed assumed power in 2018.
Ahmed, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2019, has accused the rebel forces loyal to the TPLF of launching deadly attacks on a pair of federal military camps in the region. He has also accused the party of defying his government and seeking to destabilize it.
The premier has so far spurned all calls by the United Nations, the African Union, and various countries for talks with the armed rebels in Tigray.
The fighting has reportedly claimed the lives of hundreds of people and displaced thousands who have fled across Ethiopia’s northern border into neighboring Sudan.
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