ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Friday called for respect for people's lives amid the escalating military tensions in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region.
"The ICRC calls on those taking part in clashes in northern Ethiopia to respect people's lives and property as well as their access to timely medical care and assistance," the ICRC said in a statement issued on Friday.
The Ethiopian government had since early Wednesday been undertaking military operations against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party in Ethiopia's northernmost Tigray region and now in an official war against the federal government that followed TPLF's reported attack against the Northern command of the Ethiopian Defense Force, a division that has been stationed in the region for over two decades.
"We are deeply concerned that a military escalation in northern Ethiopia could trigger a wider humanitarian emergency in which people are displaced from their homes and unable to meet their basic needs," the statement quoted Katia Sorin, head of delegation for the ICRC in Ethiopia.
"This can be averted if people's lives and property are protected and respected," Sorin said.
The ICRC, which is closely following developments in northern Ethiopia through its teams in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa and the Tigray region capital, Mekelle, also stressed that it "stands ready to provide humanitarian assistance as needed."
"Its partner, the Ethiopia Red Cross Society, is one of the main ambulance providers in the area. Unimpeded access for Red Cross ambulances and teams to the wounded and those in need will be crucial if clashes escalate," said Sorin.
On Friday, the Ethiopian government stressed that the ongoing military operations in the country's northernmost region have "clear, limited and achievable objectives."
"Operations by federal defense forces underway in Northern Ethiopia have clear, limited and achievable objectives, to restore the rule of law and the constitutional order, and to safeguard the rights of Ethiopians to lead a peaceful life wherever they are in the country," the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a Twitter post on Friday.
The Ethiopian premier also stressed that the federal government "patiently tried for several months to resolve differences with TPLF leadership peacefully."
The Ethiopian government has been frequently blaming the TPLF, which was one of the four coalition fronts of Ethiopia's former ruling party the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), for masterminding various treasonous acts across different parts of the country with an overarching goal of destabilizing the East African country.
According to the ICRC, the ongoing military action in northern Ethiopia came on top of recurrent episodes of violence that have flared around the country. "Many people have been killed, injured, and displaced in different parts of Ethiopia," the ICRC said. Enditem
