ADDIS ABABA, DECEMBER 23, 2021 — Ethiopia said its forces will maintain ground at the recently liberated areas rather than rushing into Tigray to catch up to the terrorist forces which the government believes have laid traps.
This decision was revealed today when the Minister of Government Communication Services (GCS), Dr. Legese Tulu, officially announced the conclusion of the first phase, also dubbed the 'National Unity in Diversity' campaign, against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) terrorists which had the objective of liberating all areas in Amhara and Afar under its grip.
"The invading force was dismantled and compelled to flee, destroy its equipment or surrendered", said Dr. Legese Tulu.
"The recently launched operation -
‘National Unity in Diversity’ concluded with main objectives met. ENDF
in Eastern Amhara & Afar fronts ordered to remain on guard in the
recently liberated areas. The ENDF’s activities on other fronts will be
shared in the future", said the Office of the Prime Minister in a tweet.
According to the statement from the Ministry of Government Communication Services, the TPLF terrorists have been removed from all of Afar and Eastern Amhara indicating there are still some remnants in Western part particularly in Wag-Himra zone.
The government said the recent condition of the terrorist group is heavily weakened and therefore it will make sure that the group will no more become a threat. And for this, said the government, it will make decisions based on cautious and studied actions.
The government decided to command the forces to remain on guard at the recently liberated areas instead of going into Tigray for three reasons.
First, the government said it has acquired lessons from its previous challenges within Tigray.
Lesson #1 was that when the federal forces wanted to move out its weaponry from Tigray at the time, the residents pleaded with them not to take out the weapons and the federal government accepted the plea. When the TPLF forces launched the treasonous attack on Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) on November, 2020, some of the members of the Tigray community who pleaded the federal forces not leave with the weapons failed to prevent it let alone denounce these act.
Lesson #2 was when the ENDF proceeded to counteract TPLF's treasonous act by bringing the criminals to justice and returning the stolen weaponry, there was cooperation from the community initially. But later on the ENDF was backstabbed.
Second, the government said it does not want to go right into the trap TPLF laid.
The TPLF terrorists have taken many of the corpses of its dead comrades and it has buried them in a mass grave so as to frame the Ethiopian forces with genocide when and if they enter Tigray, said the government.
It also said it is aware that there are international groups who are prepared to hang Ethiopia by disseminating this false narrative of the TPLF.
And therefore, the government said it has found it necessary to protect Ethiopian forces from this wicked ploy.
Third, the government said when there is a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, the ENDF has the constitutional right and responsibility to take measures by moving into Tigray at any time or any place.
The statement from the GCS concluded saying that it will continue to update military progress on other fronts.
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