Ethiopia’s military has accused the Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of supporting as well as trying to procure arms and diplomatic backing for Tigray state’s dominant political party, to fight the federal troops.
Tedros, 55, is an Ethiopian of Tigrayan descent who served as Ethiopia’s health minister and foreign minister from 2005-2016 in a government coalition led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
He was elected in May 2017 as the World Health Organizations (WHO)’s first African director-general and has come to global prominence as head of the health body during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Army chief of staff, General Birhanu Jula in a televised statement accusing Tedros said: “This man is a member of that group.
“What do you expect from him when his group have entered war against Ethiopia?” Birhanu said, calling Tedros a criminal who should be stripped of his WHO post.
“We don’t expect him to stand on the side of Ethiopians and condemn these people. He has been doing everything to support them, he has campaigned for neighbouring countries to condemn the war,” Birhanu added.
In the meantime, the heath body is yet to comment on the accusation against the Director-General.
