(Credit: Wikipedia /Mark Neyman / GPO /  Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

By   Gary   Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed refused to engage in dialogue with the leaders of the rebellious Tigray region during a meeting with three African Union special envoys.   The AU envoys met in Addis Ababa Friday in an attempt to help mediate between the parties to the conflict, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also the AU chair, said.   PM Ahmed expressed his gratitude to  S. African President Ramaphosa and his Special Envoys “for their concerted effort to understand our rule of law operations,”  via Twitter. 

My utmost gratitude to President ⁦@CyrilRamaphosa⁩ & his Special Envoys for their concerted effort to understand our rule of law operations. Receiving the wisdom & counsel of respected African elders is a precious continental culture that we value greatly in Ethiopia. pic.twitter.com/2utnEXG94o

— Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) November 27, 2020

The  AU envoys met a day following PM Ahmed’s  declaration that Ethiopia’s  military was beginning the “final phase” of an offensive in the northern Tigray region.

Final Phase Of The Rule Of Law Operations Commences

“The 72-hour period granted to the criminal TPLF clique to surrender peacefully is now over and our law enforcement campaign has reached its final stage.  The last peaceful gate which had remained open for the TPLF to walk through have now been closed as a result of TPLF’s contempt for the people of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian National Defense Forces have now been directed to conclude the third and final phase of our rule of law operations.  GOD  BLESS ETHIOPIA AND ITS PEOPLE.”

– PM Abiy  Amed  Nov. 26, 2020

Final Phase of the Rule of Law Operations Commences pic.twitter.com/TAAyZxSe0U

— Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) November 26, 2020

 UN Says Full Scale Humanitarian Crisis in ETHIOPIA as 40,000 Refugees Flee to SUDAN

 The  U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) warned  that a “full scale humanitarian crisis” is developing in the Horn-of-Africa nation Ethiopia as more than 40,000 refugees flee a military conflict in the Tigray region into neighboring Sudan.  More than 30,000 have now crossed into Sudan through crossing points in Kassala and Gedaref states, as well as a new location further south at Aderafi, where Ethiopian refugees started crossing over the weekend, according to UNHCR.  

The scale of the influx is the worst that part of the country has seen in over 20 years, according to the agency. Ethiopian Prime Minister Ahmed, has indicated the military operation  was launched in response to the reported occupation of a Government military base by Tigrayan forces nearly two weeks ago, would continue, although he said it was now in its “final phase”.    Tigrayans make up about 6% of Ethiopia’s  population of some 115 million. The Tigrayans formally dominated the government until PM Abiy came to power two years ago and jailed many Tigray senior officials.