The chief diplomat of the European Union on Wednesday (June 23) condemned the situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region as “shocking” and called on the world to “wake up and take action.”
Josep Borrell’s statement was made after a strike occurred in a market in Togoga town, which resulted in dozens of deaths or injuries, because there were reports of rebel progress in certain areas of the region.
A medical official told Reuters that at least 43 people were killed in an air strike in the town of Togoga in the Tigray region of Ethiopia on Tuesday, after residents said that new fighting had broken out in recent days north of Merkel, the regional capital. https://t.co/Tz7Gj9ypkE pic.twitter.com/Yxz4sUJIaU
-Reuters Africa (@ReutersAfrica) June 23, 2021
“What is happening in Tigray is shocking. Now is the time for the international community to wake up and take action,” the statement said.
“We once again urgently call for an immediate ceasefire in Tigray,” Borel added.
An ambulance driver in the area said he was prohibited from driving to Togo, Borrell said that if this were confirmed, it would constitute a “serious violation of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.”
EU leaders have included the situation in Tigray on the agenda of the summit to be held in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
Borrell described the strike as “another attack that constitutes a terrible series of Tigray Humanitarian Law and human rights violations, atrocities and ethnic violence.”
#Tigrey: The European Union strongly condemns the recent deliberate targeting of civilians. This is unreasonable in any way‼ ️
Now is the time for the international community to wake up and take action.
Statement and @JosepBorrellF Full text 👇👇https://t.co/ItEDUbL244
-Janez Lenarcic (@JanezLenarcic) June 23, 2021
In November, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (Abiy Ahmed) sent troops into the area, promising to launch a rapid campaign to overthrow the dissident ruling party.
After Abi made a peace proposal to Eritrea, the coalition against Tigray’s rebellious leadership ended the long cold war between neighboring countries and won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.
In recent days, during the voting and counting of votes in the general elections in most parts of Ethiopia, there were reports that the rebels were advancing in Tigray but did not vote.
But Borrell stated that deliberately targeting civilians is an “atrocities” and “the preservation of Ethiopia’s territorial integrity cannot be justified”.
