Tigray Defense forces(TDF) threatened on Friday to "hunt down" foreigners they said were supporting the Ethiopian government as mercenaries and technical experts in a year-long war.
Tigray
People's Liberation Front (TPLF) spokesperson Getachew Reda said the foreigners
could be from Turkey, China, Israel or the United Arab Emirates.
Government
spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There have been no independently verified reports of the warring sides using
mercenaries to date.
Getachew
told Reuters via satellite phone: "We don’t care (what their nationality
is). We will hunt them down. They will be treated like the mercenaries they
are."
The
war, which has killed thousands and forced more than two million people from
their homes.
The
conflict escalated this month after rebellious forces from the northern region
of Tigray and their allies made territorial gains and threatened to march on
the capital. The government says the gains have been exaggerated.
The
government declared a state of emergency on Nov. 2.
That
allows suspects to be detained for as long as the state of emergency lasts;
allows house-to-house searches without a warrant; and requires citizens to
carry identity cards, some of which - like those issued by some regions - can
be an indication of ethnic origin.
The
warring parties - the Ethiopian government and the rebellious Tigrayan forces -
have so far rejected calls from the United States, the United Nations and the
African Union for a ceasefire. Both sides have set conditions that the other
rejects.
Morethan 400,000 people are facing famine in Tigray, the United Nations warns.
No
U.N.-organised humanitarian supplies have entered Tigray for more than three
weeks, the U.N. said on Thursday, adding some 364 trucks are waiting in a
neighbouring region, pending authorization from authorities to proceed.
An
estimated 100 trucks per day must enter Tigray to meet critical humanitarian
needs, the U.N. says. Around 80% of essential medicine is no longer available
in Tigray and most health facilities are not functioning, it says.
The
TPLF dominated national politics for three decades until Prime Minister Abiy
Ahmed took office in 2018 and curbed its power.
With Reuters
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