NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – The fleeing leader of the afflicted Tigray region in Ethiopia has reportedly made his first public comment in three months, urging the international community to allege “genocide” and other abuses by forces, including those of neighboring Eritrea, to investigate.
It was not immediately possible to verify the audio remarks by Debretsion Gebremichael, late Saturday by Dimtsi Weyane, with the Tigray ally. He has been on the run since shortly after fighting broke out in early November between Ethiopian and allied forces and those of the Tigray region that had dominated the country’s government for nearly three decades.
But the remarks apparently took note of the recent killings of other fleeing Tigray leaders. “Many have paid and many still pay the best sacrifice,” Debretsion said.
He urged Tigray residents to ‘continue the fight’ and promised to do the same against those who ‘work with all their might to destroy our existence and identity’.
The comments also allege widespread murder, rape, torture and willful hunger. “They carry what they can away and burn what is left,” he said.
A spokesman for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed did not comment.
Abiy ousted the Tigray leaders after taking power in early 2018 and instituting political reforms that led to his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. But his government and the now-fledged Tigray one considered each other legal, especially after Ethiopia delayed its national election until mid-2021 last year, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tigray conflict continues largely in the shadows. Some communication links have been broken, residents are afraid to give telephone details and almost all journalists are blocked. Thousands of people were killed.
The Ethiopian government on Friday told private staff at Biden’s administration that Tigray was ‘back to normal’ and that more than 1 million people had been reached with help, but new evidence reports described frightened residents hiding in bullet-marked houses and a large rural area where the consequences of the fighting and food shortages are still unknown.
Last week, the Biden government pressed Eritrea to withdraw its troops “immediately” from Tigray, citing credible reports of looting, sexual assault and other abuses. The Eritreans fought with Ethiopian troops against the Tigray forces.