Tens of thousands of Ethiopians on Sunday rallied in Addis Ababa to support Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and also denounce the United States over its position on the conflict.
Africa Daily News, New York gathered that the rally took place as federal troops fought rebellious Tigrayan and Oromo forces threatening to march on the capital.
Some demonstrators denounced the United States, one of the foreign powers that has called for a ceasefire to a year-long war, which has intensified amid advances by rebellious forces in the past week.
The U.N. Security Council, the African Union, and Kenya and Uganda have also called for a ceasefire in the conflict that has killed thousands of people.
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Abiy’s government, which has pledged to keep fighting, said on Friday it had a responsibility to secure the country and urged foreign powers to stand with Ethiopia’s democracy.
Some of those gathered for the rally in Meskel Square in Addis Ababa draped themselves in the national flag.
‘Shame on you USA,’ read one placard, while another said the United States should stop ‘sucking Ethiopia’s blood’.
Some demonstrators voiced anger over a U.S. call for the government and TPLF to negotiate.
‘They want to destroy our country like they did to Afghanistan. They will never succeed, we are Ethiopians,’ said 37-year-old Tigist Lemma.
The conflict in the north of the country started a year ago when forces loyal to the TPLF seized military bases in the Tigray region.
In response, Abiy sent troops, who initially drove the TPLF out of the regional capital, Mekelle, but have faced a sharp reversal since June this year.
Addis Ababa Mayor Adanech Abiebe addressed protesters and cited Ethiopia’s history of resisting colonial power to justify the war.
The conflict has killed thousands of people, forced more than 2 million from their homes, and left 400,000 people in Tigray facing famine.
U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths travelled to Mekelle on Sunday and met women affected by the fighting and humanitarian partners, the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
