Thousands gathered in Addis Ababa to protest foreign pressure on the government over its brutal war in Tigray.
Protesters at the rally in the Ethiopian capital carried banners criticizing the United States and others in the international community expressing concern over the atrocities in Tigray, where Ethiopian forces are chasing the region’s outcast and now fleeing leaders. Troops from the neighborhood of Eritrea are fighting in Tigray on the side of Ethiopian government forces, contrary to international calls for their withdrawal.
But protesters in Addis Ababa carried placards reading “Ethiopian youths condemn Western intervention.” Others said Ethiopia’s sovereignty was at stake.
The United States said last week that it had begun restricting visas for government and military officials in Ethiopia and Eritrea, which are seen as undermining efforts to resolve the fighting in Tigray, where an estimated 6 million of Ethiopia’s 110 million people are at home. In addition to visa restrictions, Washington imposes extensive restrictions on financial and security assistance to Ethiopia.
Atrocities including brutal gang rape, extrajudicial killings and forced deportations have been part of the violence in Tigray, according to victims, witnesses, local authorities and aid groups. Thousands of people are estimated to have died.
The Ethiopian government called the US action “misleading” and “regrettable.”
“The Ethiopian government will not be deterred by this unfortunate decision by the US government,” the statement said as the State Department tweeted.
“If such a determination to interfere in our internal affairs and undermine the centuries-old bilateral ties continues unabated, the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia will be forced to reconsider its relations with the United States, which could have consequences beyond our bilateral relations,” the statement said.
The crisis began in November after Ethiopia accused former leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, of ordering an attack on an Ethiopian army base in the region.
Troops sent by Ethiopia’s leader, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, quickly threw TPLF out of major cities and towns, but guerrilla warfare is still reported across Tigray.
More than 2 million people have been displaced by the war.
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