Ethiopia's president accuses 'reckless external actors' of fuelling internal conflict
Ethiopia's president told the UN General Assembly that 'reckless external actors' are stoking conflict at home, as Tigray forces and allied opposition groups mobilise against the federal government.
Ethiopia's President Taye Atske Selassie used his address to the United Nations General Assembly to accuse unnamed foreign powers of meddling in his country's internal affairs and inflaming its conflicts.
Speaking on Wednesday, the president said "reckless external actors" were "habitually engaged in fuming instability," and that "adversarial elements" continued to interfere in Ethiopian affairs. He said his government had nonetheless exercised "immense restraint" and remained committed to making Ethiopia one of Africa's most prosperous and dynamic development engines.
"Our message to forces of destruction and mayhem is loud and clear," he told delegates, urging them to respect the right of the people of the Horn of Africa to live in peace and prosperity.
His remarks appeared directed at Egypt and Eritrea, both of which have long-running disputes with Ethiopia. Ties with Eritrea have been strained over border, security and regional questions, while the standoff with Egypt centres on the management of the Nile and Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam.
The speech comes amid renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia that has shattered the peace agreement which ended a devastating two-year war in 2022. The main combatants are federal troops and fighters loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the armed political movement in Ethiopia's northernmost regional state.
The TPLF and the federal government fought between November 2020 and November 2022, when a peace deal was signed in Pretoria, South Africa. Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopian forces against the TPLF during that conflict.
This time, the TPLF appears to have mobilised broadly, drawing together former adversaries behind its stated aim of removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed from power in Addis Ababa. On Sunday, the TPLF and six other opposition groups announced they had formed an alliance to overthrow Abiy's governing Prosperity Party, which was returned to office in June elections that major opposition groups boycotted.