Refugees Tell About Conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray Area
2020-11-13
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1Filimon heard the sound of heavy weapons in his Ethiopian border town, and he started to run.
2Filimon is an Ethiopian refugee who spoke to the Associated Press, or AP.
3He is now in Sudan. He does not know if his wife and two small children are trapped in the fighting or among the thousands of refugees.
4He is afraid and would only give one name.
5Speaking by phone to AP from Sudan on Thursday, Filimon described what he experienced in the Tigray town of Humera last week.
6He said those attacking came from the direction of Eritrea, though he does not know if they were Eritrean forces.
7Ethiopia may be close to a civil war as it fights Tigray militants at its northern border.
8The Tigrayans are demanding greater independence.
9Experts fear the conflict could bring in neighboring countries on both sides.
10Tigray leaders have accused Eritrea of joining the week-long conflict at the request of Ethiopia's federal government.
11Ethiopia's government calls the Tigray government illegal.
12Ethiopia has denied the involvement of Eritrean forces.
13Filimon's problems are far simpler.
14After a day-long walk with about 30 others fleeing, he has been in Sudan for two days.
15There are 11,000 refugees now, but officials are preparing for up to 100,000, the United Nations refugee agency said Thursday.
16About half of them are children.
17The UN agency said it was not taking statements yet about the fighting.
18It is just trying to treat the wounded and separate soldiers from refugees.
19In Ethiopia, worries over the conflict are spreading far beyond the northern Tigray area.
20The federal government said it had detained about 150 "operatives" accused of trying to spread "fear and terror" throughout the country.
21Hours later, police in Addis Ababa said they had arrested 242 people for trying "to cause terror in the capital."
22It is not clear if these are separate numbers.
23Tigrayans in Addis Ababa are scared.
24"We don't go to the office because they might also arrest us," said one ethnic Tigrayan in the capital.
25Ethiopia's parliament has accused top Tigrayan officials of "attacking the federal army."
26It voted to remove immunity from prosecution for 39 top Tigray officials, including its president.
27Around the country, people have demonstrated in support of the federal government's military moves against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, or TPLF.
28That group governs the area.
29Ethiopia's prime minister won the Nobel Peace Prize for his peacemaking efforts.
30But Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has rejected international requests for negotiations.
31He said TPLF officials must be removed and arrested and all their weapons destroyed.
32What appears to be a sudden move toward civil war has been coming for months.
33After taking office in 2018, Abiy announced political reforms that won him the Nobel prize.
34However, he also pushed the TPLF aside.
35It had been a major part of Ethiopia's federal government.
36The TPLF left the government and held its own local elections.
37Ethiopia's federal government considers this illegal.
38I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1Filimon heard the sound of heavy weapons in his Ethiopian border town, and he started to run. Filimon is an Ethiopian refugee who spoke to the Associated Press, or AP. 2He is now in Sudan. He does not know if his wife and two small children are trapped in the fighting or among the thousands of refugees. He is afraid and would only give one name. 3Speaking by phone to AP from Sudan on Thursday, Filimon described what he experienced in the Tigray town of Humera last week. 4He said those attacking came from the direction of Eritrea, though he does not know if they were Eritrean forces. 5Ethiopia may be close to a civil war as it fights Tigray militants at its northern border. The Tigrayans are demanding greater independence. Experts fear the conflict could bring in neighboring countries on both sides. 6Tigray leaders have accused Eritrea of joining the week-long conflict at the request of Ethiopia's federal government. Ethiopia's government calls the Tigray government illegal. Ethiopia has denied the involvement of Eritrean forces. 7Filimon's problems are far simpler. 8After a day-long walk with about 30 others fleeing, he has been in Sudan for two days. 9There are 11,000 refugees now, but officials are preparing for up to 100,000, the United Nations refugee agency said Thursday. About half of them are children. 10The UN agency said it was not taking statements yet about the fighting. It is just trying to treat the wounded and separate soldiers from refugees. 11In Ethiopia, worries over the conflict are spreading far beyond the northern Tigray area. The federal government said it had detained about 150 "operatives" accused of trying to spread "fear and terror" throughout the country. 12Hours later, police in Addis Ababa said they had arrested 242 people for trying "to cause terror in the capital." It is not clear if these are separate numbers. 13Tigrayans in Addis Ababa are scared. "We don't go to the office because they might also arrest us," said one ethnic Tigrayan in the capital. 14Ethiopia's parliament has accused top Tigrayan officials of "attacking the federal army." It voted to remove immunity from prosecution for 39 top Tigray officials, including its president. 15Around the country, people have demonstrated in support of the federal government's military moves against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, or TPLF. That group governs the area. 16Ethiopia's prime minister won the Nobel Peace Prize for his peacemaking efforts. But Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has rejected international requests for negotiations. He said TPLF officials must be removed and arrested and all their weapons destroyed. 17What appears to be a sudden move toward civil war has been coming for months. After taking office in 2018, Abiy announced political reforms that won him the Nobel prize. However, he also pushed the TPLF aside. It had been a major part of Ethiopia's federal government. 18The TPLF left the government and held its own local elections. Ethiopia's federal government considers this illegal. 19I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 20The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 21_______________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23immunity- n. a special protection from what is required for most people by law 24prosecution- n. the act or process of bringing a person who is accused of a crim