Ethiopia has urged the international community to refrain from “unwelcome and unlawful acts of interference” in its affairs following calls to end the conflict in the northern Tigray region. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called the military offensive a “law-enforcement operation”. His deadline to Tigray fighters to surrender will lapse on Wednesday. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed and thousands have been forced from their homes. On Tuesday, a UN Security Council meeting to discuss the fighting in Tigray ended without a statement, according to AFP news agency, with African countries reportedly requesting more time to allow for diplomatic efforts by the African Union to continue. Meanwhile, the EU foreign policy Chief Josep Borrell met with Ethiopia’s foreign minister to discuss the conflict. Former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, writing in Foreign Policy, warns against internationally brokered “superficial dialogues” that could reward the TPLF leaders with impunity and lead other restive ethnic groups to think that “violence pays off.”
SOURCE: BBC | FOREIGN POLICY