Over 1000 years old rock hewn churches of Lalibela under attack, Holy relics, artifacts and crosses reportedly looted by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)
borkena
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia on Friday said that Ethiopia could mobilize the Defense Force as pursuit of peace by gov’t emboldened Tigray rebels to expand the war in three directions : East, West and South.
TPLF moves in the West and East seek to achieve access to ports to collect delivery of weaponry from their backers. The focus was more on the west side to get access to Sudan. However, it is framed rather as an essential for the delivery of humanitarian assistance, while in reality it is the longest route to get to Tigray.
International aid agencies, including the USAID whose administrator was on a visit to Ethiopia this week, pushed for the opening of the route to Sudan, but the Ethiopian government did not allow it.
In the east, the TPLF raided about four districts of Afar region massacring hundreds of civilians and displacing over 75,000 people. The Afar- Mekelle route, much shorter than the Sudan route, has been serving as the major supply line for humanitarian assistance for several weeks now. But it was blocked by the Tigray rebels, although many of the aid organizations and the U.S. government blamed the blockade on Ethiopian government. Earlier this week, the Federal government suspended the operations of three humanitarian organizations.
TPLF rebels also took the war south of Tigray – in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. On Thursday this week, they took control of Lalibela town – which is dubbed as the Jerusalem of Ethiopia. The town has over 12 rock hewn churches that date back to over 1000 years.
Ethiopian Christians are in a desperate situation as reports of looting of holy artifacts emerge. It is following this development that the Ethiopian government is responding to public pressure.
“Attacking Afar & Amhara regions,TPLF is increasingly making every endeavor to peace unattainable. The Gov’t of #Ethiopia is being pushed to mobilize & deploy its entire defensive capability if its humanit. overtures for a peaceful resolution of the conflict remain unreciprocated,” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday on its Twitter page.
The Ethiopian Defense Force has been missing in action as the Tigray rebels were pushing the war further south to central Ethiopia.
On Friday, the Defense Force Public Relation officer, Colonel Getnet, said Ethiopia will be compelled to mobilize all its forces in the interest of protecting Ethiopians.
__
Join the conversation. Like borkena on Facebook and get Ethiopian News updates regularly. As well, you may get Ethiopia News by following us on twitter @zborkena
Debre and his goons will blow this site up and blame it on the other guys. You watch!!!
Meanwhile, the news coming out of that country about this conflict and others is so laced up and many times souped up it is almost impossible to know which one is fact and which is not. I tell you what! This is the one I will never want to be a policy maker. One is telling me he just took control of this or that town and his opponent is telling me he has ‘the enemy’ on the run. Something is being deliberately being misrepresented and such/misrepresentation could lead to a development that may end up to be so shocking that will leave everyone in disbelief. This always happens where independent reporting is a rare/nonexistent reality. Just look at what is being told at this very incident. You will come across reports quoting ‘government’ sources that ‘the terrorists’ has entered this heritage site while fleeing for their lives. Now this is going to be a nightmare. If someone goes in there to dislodge the rebels they will leave every hewn in chards and pieces. Then the blaming game will be on ad nauseam. Misrepresentation has some benefits because it gives momentary pleasure/satisfaction to the listeners/readers. Thinking a success, the misrepresentation will keep piling up so high it will reach to a point where it can’t stand straight up and will suddenly crumble disintegrating the foundation. Then we will see the country itself falling apart into oblivion. I hope and pray that will not be the case/fate for that pride of the colored. Never and ever!!!
Guys tell the truth, people are relying you.
TPLF is running through desperate defense of Amhara people. You help TPLF by lying or omitting the truth.
TPLF will only be defeated by truthful coverage people need to take these terrorists seriously. Just talk doesn’t work!
TPLF has prepared for this for decades, and trained hundreds of thousands of soldiers while Amhara region “leaders” sat on their hands hoping ENDF will defend them. The time to sound the siren was a few months ago. The next best time is now.
I don’t know what happened to Amhara regional state, not able to defend the terrorist from their regional while the National deference forces their present at Sudan border to prevent the terrorist to access route their.
Ittu Aba Farda should be held accountable and thrown to the ditch . He is spreading fake news and inciting violence.
A country known to have a history of 3000 years is now destroyed by Oromo leaders like Abiy and Shimeles in 3 years .