Tens of thousands of Ethiopians have gathered in Meskel Square in central Addis Ababa draped in the national flag on Sunday in support of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government as federal troops fight rebellious forces who are threatening to march on the city.
The pro-government rally-goers carried placards with inscriptions such as “We don’t need interference from abroad,” read some of the placards.
Other signs carried by the pro-government protesters urged the US, to “stop sucking our blood” while the Addis Ababa mayor Adanech Abiebe said that Ethiopia’s foes were trying to “terrorize the population” and invoked the country’s history of resisting colonial power as a justification for the ragging war against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies.
While speaking at the rally the Ethiopian Mayor also mo
cked those saying that the capital Addis Ababa is surrounded, “but Addis Ababa is only surrounded by its incredible people, by its vigilant, heroic children,” she said.
She was particularly critical of the US government, which last week announced plans to boot Ethiopia out of a vital trade pact because of rights abuses related to the war.
During her speech at the pro-government rally Abiebe said “If aid and loans will strip us of our freedom, if they will lead us to sacrifice our freedom, we won’t sacrifice our freedom,” adding that the TPLF’s rightful place “is in hell”.
An Ethiopian journalist Samuel Getachew, speaking from Addis Ababa, said the rally was designed to show that a large number of people still support the government’s military operations against the rebels.
The conflict has killed thousands of people, forced more than 2 million from their homes, and left 400,000 people in Tigray facing famine.
Billene Seyoum, Abiy’s spokesperson, said in a Twitter post late on Saturday: “Orchestrated media propaganda against Ethiopia is escalating … Despite it all Ethiopia will overcome!”
