FILE PHOTO: Vehicles queue for gas in Mekelle, Ethiopia November 23, 2020. Picture taken November 23, 2020. Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS/File photo
ADDIS ABABA/NAIROBI, November 28 (Reuters): Ethiopian government forces began an offensive to capture the regional capital Mekelle in the rebellious northern Tigray region on Saturday, said a diplomat in direct contact with residents, and the leader of Tigrayan forces.
The government, which says its military campaign is in its final stages, had given the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) an ultimatum that expired on Wednesday to lay down arms or face an assault on Mekelle, a city of 500,000 people. The government stressed on Saturday that it seeks to protect civilians.
Debretsion Gebremichael, leader of the TPLF, told Reuters in a text message that Mekelle was under "heavy bombardment". The Ethiopian military is using artillery in the assault, he said in a subsequent text message.
The diplomat said explosions were reported in the north of the city, in the Hamidai area. A second diplomat also said the attack had begun.
Billene Seyoum, a spokeswoman for the prime minister's office, said: "The Ethiopian National Defense Forces do not have a mission to bombard its own city and people. Mekelle remains one of Ethiopia's key cities and the efforts to bring to justice the criminal clique will not entail discriminatory 'bombardment' as alluded by TPLF and their propagandists."
She added, "The safety of Ethiopians in Mekelle and Tigray region continues as priority for the federal government".
Claims from all sides are difficult to verify since phone and internet links to the region have been down and access has been tightly controlled since fighting began on Nov. 4 between forces of the government and the TPLF.
Abiy told African peace envoys on Friday that his government will protect civilians in Tigray. The prime minister has said he regards the conflict as an internal matter and his government has so far rebuffed attempts at mediation.
MILITARY OFFENSIVE
Abiy accuses Tigrayan leaders of starting the war by attacking federal troops at a base in Tigray. The TPLF says the attack was a pre-emptive strike.
Thousands of people are believed to have died and around 43,000 refugees have fled to neighbouring Sudan. The northern region of Tigray also borders the nation of Eritrea.
Debretsion also accused the Eritrean military of crossing the border and raiding refugee camps in Tigray to capture refugees who have fled Eritrea in the past.
Reuters was not immediately able to get comment from the Eritrean government, which has not responded to calls from Reuters for more than two weeks.
United Nations refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said on Saturday that he was deeply concerned about the 100,000 Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia and what he called unconfirmed reports of violence against them.
"I really want to appeal to the Ethiopian government for exercising maximum responsibility," he told Reuters in an interview while visiting Sudan on Saturday. "They've always been a very responsible government, they know how to deal with refugees. This has to continue also for the Eritreans in Tigray."
The TPLF and Eritrea are archenemies: the TPLF was in charge in Addis Ababa when Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a war from 1998-2000. But Eritrea and Abiy have warm relations. The Ethiopian government has denied TPLF accusations that Eritrean troops are operating on Ethiopian soil.
Eritrea is one of the world's most repressive nations. It has never had elections and no independent media has operated there for two decades. Upon turning 18, Eritrean men and women must enter compulsory service to the state for an indefinite amount of time. Around 10% of the population has fled.
On Friday evening in Eritrea, "a loud noise, possibly an explosion" was heard in the capital Asmara, the U.S. Embassy there said in a statement early on Saturday. TPLF rockets hit Eritrea on Nov. 14.
LETTER TO DEFENCE ATTACHES
On Friday, a letter was sent to embassies in Addis Ababa warning defence attaches that they risked expulsion if they were in contact with unnamed enemies of Ethiopia.
"Some military attaches are working with those who endangered the security of the country, identified in blacklist and sought by attorney of the court,” said the letter. The letter was stamped by Brigadier-General Boultie Tadesse of the Defence Foreign Relations Directorate, on the copy seen by Reuters.
A military spokesman and the head of the government’s Tigray taskforce did not respond to requests for comment.
Billene, the prime minister's spokeswoman, said she could not address questions about the letter, including whether it was referring to the TPLF, without seeing the original document.
Tigrayans, who make up about 6% of Ethiopia's 115 million population, dominated the government until Abiy took power two years ago.
Abiy pledged to unite Ethiopians and introduce freedoms after years of state repression that filled jails with tens of thousands of political prisoners. His government also put senior Tigrayan officials on trial for crimes such as corruption, torture and murder. The Tigrayan region saw those trials as discrimination.
