ADDIS ABEBA – The Ethiopian government has issued on Thursday arrest warrants on 64 top officials of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Dr Debretsion Gebremichael, president of Tigray regional state, and 62 others face “terrorism, grand corruption, human rights violation and treason charges”, Federal Police said in a statement on Thursday.
The arrest warrant issued hours after the lower house of Ethiopian parliament has lifted the prosecutorial immunity covering 38 lawmakers from the region.
The Ethiopian government last week launched what it called a law enforcement operation targeting TPLF leaders, accusing them of attacking military bases located in Tigray.
Apart individuals whose immunity stripped of, the arrest warrant issued on other officials including Fetlework G/egzihabher, Getachew Asefa, Kiria Ibrahim, Seyoum Mesfin, Sibhat Nega, Sekuture Getachew and 20 others.
Earlier Today, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused the TPLF forces of atrocities during a week of fighting. “The western region of Tigray has been liberated,” tweeted Abiy. “In those liberated areas, the army is now providing humanitarian assistance and services. It is also feeding the people”.
The Prime Minister accuses the TPLF of starting the conflict by attacking a federal military base and defying the central government’s authority.
Abiy said some of his soldiers had been found dead in the town of Sheraro, shot with their legs and arms tied behind their back. “This kind of cruelty is heartbreaking and the goal is to destroy Ethiopia,” he added.
The Ethiopian Monitor
