ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopian staff working for the United Nations or African Union who break the law will face penalties, the foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday, following the arrest of several U.N. employees for unspecified offences.
Ethiopia declared a state of emergency on Nov. 2 after rebellious forces from the northern region of Tigray and their allies made territorial gains and threatened to march on the capital.
Since then, hundreds of Tigrayans have reportedly been arrested in Addis Ababa, along with 16 U.N. staff members whose ethnicity has not been disclosed. Seven were later released. Police say the arrests – which have caught up large numbers of Tigrayan civilians – are not ethnically motivated.
Foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told a news conference in the capital: “U.N. staff who reside in Ethiopia should respect the law of the country. They live in Ethiopia, not in space. Whether it is a U.N. or A.U. staff member, they shall be held accountable.”
The United Nations, African Union, and African and Western governments called for a ceasefire last week.
But Dina reiterated the government’s stance that it will not hold ceasefire talks with leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) because Tigrayan forces have not yet withdrawn from the Amhara and Afar regions, which both neighbour Tigray.
The Tigrayan forces entered Amhara in July after Ethiopian troops withdrew from most of Tigray after months of bloody battles. Amhara forces have been supporting the military.
The A.U.’s envoy for the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo, and U.S. Special Envoy Jeffrey Feltman have both visited Ethiopia this week to talk about a ceasefire.
Also on Thursday, state-affiliated broadcaster Fana reported that the Ethiopian military, fighting alongside regional forces and allied militias, repulsed attacks by Tigrayan forces near the town of Kemise in Amhara. Kemise is 325 km (200 miles) from the capital; the TPLF said it seized it last week although Reuters was unable to independently verify the claim.
Fana also reported soldiers pushed back Tigrayan forces trying to capture the town of Mille in Afar, which lies along the highway linking the port of Djibouti to landlocked Ethiopia.
The TPLF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The spreading conflict has killed thousands of civilians and forced more than two million people from their homes.
Two diplomatic sources said on Thursday that the European Union is evacuating non-essential staff from Ethiopia; several other nations have advised nationals to leave.
(Reporting by Addis Ababa newsroom; Additional reporting by Ayenat Mersie in Nairobi; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Giles Elgood)
