Ethiopia Crisis: Military Accuses WHO DG Of Supporting Factional Group

Amid a conflict that has displaced hundreds of Ethiopians( particularly of the Tigray region) , the nation’s military on Thursday alleged that the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is using his international influence to assist the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, in its fight with federal government forces.

Ethiopia’s Army Chief of Staff, General Birhanu Jula accused Adhanom in a state broadcast.

“He himself is a member of that group and he is a criminal. He has been doing everything to support them, he has campaigned to get the neighboring countries to condemn the war. He has worked to facilitate weapons for them (the TPLF).

“He tried to lobby people by using his international profile and mission to get support for the TPLF junta,” Birhanu said, as quoted by Reuters.

The WHO DG, who is from Tigray and who also served as former head of the Tigray Regional Health Bureau, is yet to respond to the allegations as of the time of this report.

Meanwhile, a United Nations Refugee Spokesman, Babar Baloch had said that thousands of people were fleeing the country adding that “a full-scale humanitarian crisis is unfolding”.

THE WHISTLER had reported that the African Union (AU) Commission had expressed concern over the unsavory developments in the country.

But it called on all parties to embrace dialogue in the crisis bedeviling the Tigray region of the country, while assuring that the AU backed the indivisibility of Ethiopia.

Reuters reports that “an escalating conflict in Ethiopia’s restive Tigray region has killed hundreds of people…”

On his part, the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, had claimed that the Tigray administration were plotting to break away.

“Our law enforcement operations in Tigray are proceeding as planned: operations will cease as soon as the criminal junta is disarmed, legitimate administration in the region restored, and fugitives apprehended and brought to justice — all of them rapidly coming within reach.

“The Ethiopian government is ready to receive and reintegrate our fellow Ethiopians fleeing to neighboring countries. We vow to our innocent civilians that have fled, to protect their property, enable humanitarian support by the ENDF and guarantee their peace upon return,” he stated on Tuesday.