NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – The fugitive leader from the Tigray region in Ethiopia made his first public comments in three months, urging the international community to investigate the alleged “genocide” and other abuses committed by forces, including those in neighboring Eritrea. .
It was not possible to immediately verify the audio comments of Debretsion Gebremichael posted on Saturday night by Tigray’s allied media, Dimtsi Weyane. He is fleeing shortly after fighting broke out in early November between Ethiopian and allied forces and those in the Tigray region, which dominated the country’s government for nearly three decades.
But the comments seemed to indicate the recent deaths of other fugitive Tigray leaders. “Many have paid and many continue to pay the final sacrifice,” said Debretsion.
He urged Tigray residents to “continue the fight” and promised to do the same against those who are “working with all their might to destroy our existence and identity”.
The comments also alluded to widespread murder, rape, torture and intentional starvation. “They are carrying what they can and burning what is left,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed did not comment.
Abiy dropped Tigray leaders after taking power in early 2018 and introducing political reforms that led him to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. But his government and now fugitive Tigray came to be considered illegitimate, especially after Ethiopia. he postponed his national election last year to mid-2021, citing the pandemic COVID-19.
The Tigray conflict remains largely in the shade. Some communication links are cut, residents are afraid to give details over the phone and almost all journalists are blocked. Thousands of people died.
The Ethiopian government said privately on Friday to Biden administration officials that Tigray “has returned to normal” and more than 1 million people have been reached with help, but new eyewitness reports describe terrified residents hiding in bullet-marked houses and a vast rural area where the effects of struggles and food shortages are still unknown.
Last week, the Biden government pressured Eritrea to “immediately” withdraw its soldiers from Tigray, citing credible reports of looting, sexual assault and other abuses. Eritreans fight alongside Ethiopian troops against Tigray forces.