File: Ambassador Seyoum Mesfin. Courtesy|Orhan Karsli/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The Ethiopian government has issued an arrest warrant for more than 90 constitutional and military officials, including the country’s former chief mediator of South Sudan’s IGAD-mediated peace talks.

Ambassador Seyuom Mesfin and others are accused of organizing the attack on a military base in the northern division where hundreds of Ethiopian soldiers were killed by the Tigray People Liberation Front, TPLF.

They are also accused of attempting to loot military assets. 

On 4 November 2020, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered the Ethiopian Defence Forces (EDF) to militarily engage with the Tigray Regional Paramilitary Police and militia loyal to the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) in what he stated was a response to multiple attacks by the Tigray security forces on the EDF North Command base in Mekelle and other military camps in Tigray Region.

The TPLF, which is in power in the province, denies the attack and has accused the Prime Minister of concocting the story to justify deploying the offensive.

A statement issued today by the Ethiopian Federal Police Commission announced that the arrest of the leaders of the TPLF and the Oromo breakaway faction was commissioned by the court.

 It charged the officials, as well as, Ambassador Mesfin – former Foreign Minister and ambassador to China – for instigating ethnic and religious divisions, and “providing training, financial support and equipment to kill innocent citizens, harm and damage property.”

Mesfin’s factor

In October 2020, Seyoum Mesfin accused Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of allowing Eritrean President Isaias Afeworki to “rape Ethiopia” under the guise cooperation.

In an interview with Tigray Mass Media Agency, Seyoum stated the deployment of Eritrean security forces in the Ethiopian soil against the sovereignty of the nation in an attempt to cleanse the legacy of the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF).

He also described the Nobel Laureate as a “former Ethiopian Prime Minister,” arguing that Abiy’s term in office had come to an end and was only “ruling the country and living up to his ego.”

The former diplomat also accused Dr. Abiy of committing treason by allowing Egypt to negotiate on Ethiopia’s natural ownership rights over the Nile waters as opposed to the position of the previous government that the negotiation should not be on water sharing but on the engineering and safety of the dam.

He hinted that TPLF has already made alliances or is searching for one” because “Ethiopia is in a very difficult situation and sensitive times.”

 64 ‘fugitives’

The sixty-four former constitutional postholders are also charged with “sabotage and the killing of soldiers in the northern division.”

Most of those in the list of 64 have not been apprehended.

32 security officers

The Ethiopian government also issued a second arrest warrant for 32 individuals serving in the military and federal police service.

The statement revealed that 7 officers ranking from a Colonel to a Brigadier General have so far been arrested.

They are charged with “attempting to overthrow a constitutional system” in Ethiopia.

The government of Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, called on the Ethiopian national defence forces, police and security institutions to apprehend the leaders of the TPLF and other militants to “rescue the country from a potential disaster.”

 Humanitarian impact

Observers say – since the start of the conflict, there have been armed confrontations between federal forces (Federal Army, Amhara Region’s Special Force Police and Amhara local militia) on one side and the Tigray regional forces (Tigray Special Force Police and militia) on the other side.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Defence and the Prime Minister have announced that Ethiopian Air Force planes carried out multiple airstrikes against TPLF military installations. 

Dr. Abiy Ahmed and the Army Chief of Staff pledged to continue airstrikes on selected targets without endangering civilian life, advising residents to stay away from ammunition depots and other military targets.

Airports in Tigray are closed, roads blocked, internet services cut off and even banks are no longer operating.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says, as of 11 November, some 7,000 refugees had fled western Tigray state into neighbouring Sudan, as fears grow that conflict could prompt a serious humanitarian crisis.

Aid officials have warned hundreds of thousands more are likely to leave their homes if the conflict, now entering its second week, does not end.

Additional information by Koang Pal Chang