Tag: Debretsion Gebremichael

Abiy places a bounty worth 10mln birr on the heads of TPLF leaders

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed places a bounty worth 1 million birr on the of TPLF leaders |Photo: File
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed places a bounty worth 1 million birr on the of TPLF leaders |Photo: File

Dec 19, 2020 (Thessherald)–The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has announced a reward of 10 million birr for anyone who discloses any information or whereabouts of the TPLF leaders who have been on the run since the federal army took over the capital, Mekelle.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Head of Information Department at the Ministry of National Defense Force, Lieutenant General Asrat Denero said that the federal forces are on the mission to hunt down the top TPLF leaders and that anyone who discloses their hiding place will walk away with 10 million birr equivalent to $260,926.

“Anyone who provides information on the whereabouts of leaders the TPLF clique will be rewarded 10 million Birr,” the Ethiopian official was quoted as saying.

Since November 4, the federal government has launched a nationwide military campaign in an attempt to capture the leaders of the TPLF headed by Debretsion Gebremichael despite mounting international pressure.

Earlier this week, the European Union cut € 90 million to Ethiopia as a countermeasure to end the ongoing suffering of Eritrean refugees and internally displaced people in the Tigray region.

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Ethiopian fighter jet shot down, 1 pilot captured alive

An Ethiopian pilot captured alive after the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front shot down his fighter jet |Photo: Via Twitter
An Ethiopian pilot captured alive after the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front shot down his fighter jet |Photo: Via Twitter

November 29, 2020 (Thessherald)–The leader of the rebellious forces in Ethiopia’s Tigray region told Reuters in a text message that his forces had shot down an Ethiopian military plane on Sunday and captured the pilot, a day after the government announced its military operation in the region was over.

Debretsion Gebremichael said in an exclusive interview with Reuters that the pilot “was on a mission to bomb”.

According to Reuters, there was no immediate comment from the Ethiopian government or military. The government has previously said it only bombs military targets.

Picture of a burning Ethiopian fighter jet shot down by the Tigray Defense Force |Photo: Via Twitter

On Sunday, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) announced that the ongoing fighting in the Tigray region is far from over. The defiant group accused Prime Minister Abiy of invading their ancestral birthplace.

Humanitarian situation in Mekelle

As the two sides continue to wage a deadly war at the expense of the civilian population, aid agencies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, have warned that the situation in that region is extremely bleak, denouncing the overcrowding of hospitals with the wounded.

“The influx of wounded forced the hospital to suspend many other medical services so that limited staff and resources could be devoted to emergency medical care,” the ICRC said in a statement.

Since last week, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has rejected international calls for a peaceful dialogue, arguing that the ongoing violence in the region is an internal issue that should not be resolved at the international level.

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