Ethiopian parents urge UN to evacuate students stuck in Tigray
SubscribeAfricaEthiopian parents urge UN to evacuate students stuck in TigraySaturday, July 24, 2021Addis Ababa protestsParents and other relatives of university students stranded in Ethiopia’s Tigray region during protests in Addis Ababa on July 23, 2021, for their urgent evacuation.
Some students had tried to leave Tigray via the only remaining main route in the Afar region, but that exit was blocked after rebels launched offensives there a few days ago.Thousands of parents and other relatives of university students stranded in the Tigray region on Friday staged protests in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, calling for their urgent and safe evacuation.About 2,000 people from across the county rallied outside the UN-ECA office in Addis Ababa to push for the evacuation of at least 6,000 students, who had been attending different universities in Tigray.This comes after the Ethiopian government last month withdrew its forces from the Tigray capital, Mekelle, and the region at large, in what it said was a “unilateral ceasefire,” but which the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) said was a major defeat.
TPLF forces recaptured Mekelle on June 28 after about eight months of fighting, in a major military operation that saw thousands of government soldiers killed and others captured.
Shortly after the rebel forces took control of the State capital, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government issued a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew the National Defense forces
Tigray’s interim government, which was appointed by the central government, then fled to Addis Ababa as TPLF advanced towards Mekelle.
The unexpected withdrawal of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) and the interim government left thousands of university students stuck in a region without a government.
By Citizen
