The United Nations has warned of the repercussions of a civil war in Ethiopia, as violence is escalating.
“No one can predict what continued fighting and insecurity will bring, but let me be clear that what is certain is that the risk of Ethiopia sliding into a widening civil war is very real,” UN Political Affairs Envoy Rosemary DiCarlo said at a Security Council meeting.
She added that the conflict in the Tigray region in the north of the country has reached catastrophic proportions, explaining that the battles are putting the future of the country and its people, as well as the stability of the wider Horn of Africa in a state of uncertainty in recent days.
The Ethiopian government’s conflict with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front began a year ago and the conflict has accelerated in recent days as a state of emergency was declared across the country last week and residents of the capital were asked to be ready to take up arms to defend residential areas.
In November 2020, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military offensive on the front, which had long run the Tigray region and been a major player in Ethiopian national politics.
