UN refugee chief says Ethiopia conflict far from over as Eritrean migrant remain at risk

The United Nations refugee chief Filippo Grandi has warned that the conflict in Ethiopia is far from over despite the federal forces of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed calling an end to their military offensive. Grandi said that he is very concerned about the fate of nearly 1,00,000 Eritrean refugees, who live in refugee camps near the Tigray-Eritrea border. This comes after reports of Eritrean refugees being abducted by Eritrean armed forces working at the behest of the Ethiopian army emerged. 

Read: Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed Rejects Tigray Conflict Talks In African Union Meeting

Grandi has urged the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister of Ethiopia to take stock of the situation and has said if the reports are true then it would be a "major violation of international norms". Eritrean refugees have been living in camps in the Shire, which is located in the conflict zone of Tigray, and media reports suggest that at least 6,000 of them have been abducted.

Eritrea has been allegedly involved in the ongoing conflict between Ethiopia's central government and the regional Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) party. 

Read: Ethiopia Army Says It 'fully Captured' Tigray State Capital, On Manhunt For TPLF Factions

Tigray regional leaders, who are on the run at the moment, had earlier confirmed to have bombed the Eritrea capital, Asmara for their alleged participation in the conflict after an invitation from the Ethiopian PM. But nothing can be confirmed as of now because of the grim situation in the region that is currently cut-off from the outside world and information flow is literally dead. 

Meanwhile, the conflict has created a refugee crisis of its own as the minority Tigray people have been forced to flee to neighbouring Sudan because of the military offensive launched by the central forces. 

Read: UN Warns Of 'very Critical' Shortages In Ethiopia's Tigray

Tigray conflict

The immediate conflict in the region was sparked after the ruling TPLF party, a minority party at the centre but a strong and powerful group in the region, allegedly attacked a military base of the federal forces on November 4 following which Ahmed's government launched a military offensive. 

Relations between TPLF and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had started straining after the latter announced reforms to end ethnic federalism in the country. Ahmed dissolved the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, which had ruled the country for 30 years, and created a new Prosperity Party by merging all regional parties. The creation of the Prosperity Party meant a reduction of TPLF's influence at the federal level, which prompted the powerful regional organisation to refuse to join the party. 

The relations took a drastic hit after the TPLF party held parliamentary elections in September despite the central government's decision to postpone all polls in the country due to COVID-19 concerns. 

Read: Ethiopia's Tigray Capital 'heavily Bombarded' By Federal Forces: Reports