The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Mr Abiy Ahmed has ordered a military response to the attack carried out yesterday in Western Ethiopia.
Mr Abiy accused the region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), of launching the attack.
The prime minister who appeared in a TV address said the attack resulted in “many martyrs, injuries and property damage,” adding that the group “tried to loot” military assets.
There have been recent tensions between the government and TPLF in recent months, with both sides accusing the other of plotting to use military force.
The prime minister, in a statement, posted on his Twitter and Facebook pages, said defence forces “have been ordered to carry out their mission to save the country”.
According to him, “The final point of the red line has been crossed, while force is the last measure to save the people and the country.”
Speaking to newsmen on Monday, the Tigray region’s president, Debrestion Gebremichael, predicted that the Ethiopian government was going to attack, noting that they intend to punish the region for organizing its own election for the Tigray parliament in September, a move that was in direct defiance of the federal government’s and electoral board decision to postpone all elections.
It is worthwhile to note that the Tigrayans held most of Ethiopia’s political power from 1991 to 2018.
However, their power has waned since Mr Abiy Ahmed was elected prime minister.
