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After the Capture of Mekelle- the regional capital of Tigray – without civilian causalities and destruction of property that the criminal clique and so many in the media echoed, the active phase of the military operation has come to an end.

The current task of the Federal Government mainly includes bringing fugitives to justice, restoring law and order, guaranteeing our citizens in the affected areas have unfettered access to humanitarian assistance, resettling and rehabillitating those who have been forced to cross borders and restoring transport and communications services that have been destroyed and disrupted by the criminal clique.

The criminal clique pushed a patently false narrative that its fighters and supporters are battle hardened and well-armed, posing the risk of protracted insurgency in the rugged mountains of TIgray. It also claimed that it has managed to undertake strategic retreat with all its capability and regional government apparatus intact. The reality is the criminal clique is thoroughly defeated and in disarray, with insignificant capability to mount a protracted insurgency. Using lies and anarchy as a political weapon may have worked during the clique’s days of guerilla warfare. But it is a lesson the hardliners within the criminal clique have failed to unlearn.

The clique cannot be a reliable partner to the worthy cause of creating a more just and equitable Ethiopia if they themselves are fiercely resistant to accommodate any change. More than anything else, ordinary Tigrayans seek for inclusive and equitable growth, peace, freedom, and security.

In the absence of a legitimate and just cause, sustaining a protracted insurgency is near impossible particularly by a disgruntled and reactionary clique that has few allies inside and outside.

The criminal clique also wanted to internationalize the conflict by spouting endless false accusations as a last-ditch attempt to force international mediation as a way out of accountability and justice.

The notion that the criminal group cares about the wellbeing of civilians is anomalous to its inherent being.

A group that began its campaign of destruction with treasonous murder of members of the National Defence Force, then proceeded with the purging of civilians in Maikadra, while at the same time launched indiscriminate weapons of destruction to densely populated cities in Bahir Dar and Gondar, used civilians and kidnapped members of the military as human shields, can claim no moral authority to express concern for the wellbeing of civillans. And its three-decade old history in power is replete with civilians suffering and mass atrocities.

The protection and security of all our citizens remains an essential priority for the Federal Government. Working closely with relevant humanitarian agencies and UN partners, the government is actively working to extend protection and humanitarian assistance to those who are impacted by the current law enforcement operations including to non-Ethiopians who are hosted in refugee camps and host communities in Tigray.

The government will return, resettle, and rehabilitate Ethiopian refuges in a short period of time. It is to be recalled that the government signed an agreement with the UN for an enhanced coordination mechanism for humanitarian access that Will enable partners to assist affected population effectively and impartially with a well-coordinated framework led by the Federal Government.

The Federal Government wishes to underline that the safety and wellbeing of our citizens remains our utmost priority.

Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia held a phone conversation with Jeppe Kofod, Foreign Minister of Denmark.

In their conversation, Demeke addressed the Danish Foreign Minister’s concerns over the situation in Tigray and the humanitarian activities there.

Demeke told him that the operation in Tigray is over by now and the government is engaging in reconstruction and rehabilitation activities in the region.

The federal government has continued to work with the interim government of Tigray and manhunt the TPLF criminals to bring them to justice, he added.

He also thanked the international humanitarian agencies for closely working with the government and other relevant bodies in the country in delivering assistance to affected people.

He also underlined that the government is actively working with the government of Sudan to return refugees and displaced people to their homes.

Jeppe Kofod, on his part, expressed his country’s commitment to support the Ethiopian government in every way possible in providing humanitarian assistance and protecting the rights of civilians.

The ministers also talked about the upcoming Ethiopian general elections where the Danish government has shown willingness to support.

Similarly, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia to Sweden and other Nordic countries Deriba Kuma conferred with officials of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark foreign ministries.

He briefed them about the operations underway in Tigray regional state to hunt down criminals as well as to reconstruct the regional state.

Ambassador Deriba finally called upon the officials to join hands with the Ethiopian government in rebuilding the Tigray region.

The diplomatic efforts to change the wrong perceptions of some of the international communities about the law enforcement operation in northern Ethiopia were successful, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Dina Mufti said.

Briefing the media today, the spokesperson said high-level government officials shuttled to and fro neighboring and other countries to explain about the ultimate objective of the law enforcement operation in Tigray Regional State.

Upon completion of the operation, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen held series of phone conversions with the foreign ministers of Russia, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Netherlands and the UN Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, among others, he added.

According to Dina, the Deputy PM and Foreign Minister informed the ministers about the minimum casualties and destruction incurred and the commencement of rehabilitation of the displaced.

“The military aspect of the operation is now over. Only the police force has been active in Tigray to apprehend the fugitives and bring them to justice,” Dina stated.

The spokesperson further explained that “the wrong narratives that dubbed the law enforcement operation in the northern part of the country as civil war or attacks waged on one party are more or less corrected and replaced by the right narratives.”

Now, the narrative on the law enforcement operation is changing into rehabilitating the displaced people and opening up corridors for humanitarian actors, he pointed out.

Thus the concern of the international community tends to be shifting towards collaborating with the government to facilitate ways of delivering humanitarian assistance to those in need.

The spokesperson revealed that, “Humanitarian corridors are now open. The displaced and those who fled to Sudan will be coming back soon and rehabilitated. In fact, we are working in collaboration with Sudanese government officials and other national, regional and international organizations to speed up their return.”

H.E. Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia welcomed to his office on Thursday (December 04), the President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), Mr. Mustapha Berraf.

Mr. Mustapha is in Addis Ababa to attend the Association of National Olympic Committee of Africa (ANOCA) Extraordinary General assembly which will be held on the upcoming Sunday.

On the occasion, Mr. Demeke briefed the ANOCA president about the potential of Ethiopian regional cities to host international sports competitions mentioning the construction of stadiums and sports facilities in various parts of the country.

Mr. Mustapha thanked the minister for meeting with him on such short notice and affirmed that ANOCA would continue to work closely with relevant bodies in Ethiopia.

Taye Atske Selassie, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the UN, held a meeting with Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and the Head of UNOCHA.

The meeting focused on the agreement signed between Ethiopia and the UN for enhanced coordination mechanism for humanitarian access in Ethiopia.

The two exchanged views on the operationalization of the agreement and the need for the maintenance and restoration of basic infrastructure services in the Tigray region.

It is to be recalled that Ethiopian and the UN yesterday signed an agreement that seeks to enable unimpeded, sustained and secure access for humanitarian personnel and services to areas under the control of the Federal Gov’t in Tigray, the bordering areas of Amhara and Afar regions.