Paris has suspended an agreement on military cooperation between France and Ethiopia, sources said on Friday in the middle of the ongoing conflict in the north of the African country.
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The agreement between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Emmanuel Macron in March 2019 was terminated in early July.
Macron and Abiy had signed an agreement in which France would borrow 85 million euros ($ 100 million) to support Ethiopia’s ambition to build a navy.
Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his role in helping end the decades-long conflict with neighboring Eritrea.
But international partners have become increasingly concerned about his leadership as the conflict in the northern Tigray region intensifies.
Northern Ethiopia has been embroiled in conflict since November, when Abiy sent troops to overthrow the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated national politics for nearly three decades before taking office.
He said the move came in response to TPLF attacks on federal army camps. But while Abiy promised a quick victory, more than nine months later, the TPLF has made progress in the nearby Afar and Amhara regions.
Aid workers are struggling to reach 400,000 shutdown populations facing starvation-like conditions in Tigray, according to the UN.
On Tuesday, the Abiy office issued a statement urging “all capable Ethiopians who are of age” to join the armed forces as the conflict escalates.
The TPLF has said it is not trying to regain power at the national level and is instead focusing on “humiliating” government troopers and trying to facilitate access to aid to Tigray.
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