It’s better to have negotiations,” he said.
“Why are we saying move forward and die? Let the youth stay, let the elderly go. Yet one performer, singer Tariku Gankisi, appeared to go off message when he took the stage at the rally and called for talks. They are terrorists and they should be buried and destroyed.” “They won’t come to Addis because I believe the military can destroy them,” clothing vendor Kebede Hailu told the AFP news agency. Meanwhile, several Addis Ababa residents said on Sunday they did not fear the TPLF. Police confirmed on Saturday that there had been a “clean-up operation”. Many people from Tigray have been arrested in the capital and driven out of the city in military vehicles. We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors that paid great sacrifices for us and today we stand committed to laying a solid foundation for generations to come. When we stand together, we can overcome anything. “We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors that paid great sacrifices for us and today we stand committed to laying a solid foundation for generations to come.” On Sunday, Abiy said in a Twitter post: “When we stand together, we can overcome anything. Hundreds of refugees from the northern conflict regions of Tigray, Amhara and Afar arrived in the capital on Saturday, a witness told dpa news agency. Pressure is mounting on the central government after the TPLF said its forces were less than 350km (217 miles) from Addis Ababa. He promised a swift victory but in June the TPLF retook most of Tigray, including the capital Mekelle, and it has since moved into neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray last November to topple the TPLF, then the regional ruling party, a move he said came in response to TPLF attacks on federal army camps. The Ugandan president is set to host a summit of the East African bloc the Intergovernmental Authority on Development on November 16 to discuss the conflict. “Most people here support the Ethiopian Defense Forces and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed,” Adow said.
“This is to show to the world, that Ethiopians want a local solution to the problem,” he said, referring to the anti-Western rhetoric among the crowd.Īl Jazeera’s Mohammed Adow, reporting from Addis Ababa, said the rally was representative of popular sentiment on the streets of the capital. “If aid and loans will strip us of our freedom, if they will lead us to sacrifice our freedom, we won’t sacrifice our freedom,” Adanech said, adding that the TPLF’s rightful place “is in hell”.Įthiopian journalist Samuel Getachew, speaking from Addis Ababa, told Al Jazeera the rally was designed to show that a large number of people still support the government’s military operations against the rebels.
She was particularly critical of the US government, which last week announced plans to boot Ethiopia out of a vital trade pact because of rights abuses related to the war. “They say Addis Ababa is surrounded, but Addis Ababa is only surrounded by its incredible people, by its vigilant, heroic children,” she said. Other signs urged the US, one of the harshest international critics of the war, to “stop sucking our blood”.Īddis Ababa mayor Adanech Abebe said in a speech that Ethiopia’s foes were trying to “terrorise our population”. Rally-goers also held signs blasting Western media for broadcasting “fake news” overstating rebel gains. “We don’t need interference from abroad,” read some of the placards. The protests on Sunday, organised by the government, were also directed against countries who have called for an end to the violence.