Photo: UNIFSABy Firaol Bersisa @FiraolBerAddis Abeba – The Ministry of Defense commented on the refusal of 528 Tigrayan UN Peacekeepers in Abyei (UNISFA) to return home. The ministry said that the troops who reportedly sought political asylum in Sudan fell victims to propaganda by TPLF’s servants abroad which alleged that returning to Ethiopia meant imprisonment’. “This has caused a state of confusion amongst these deployed members which in turn caused the desertion of ‘some Tigrinya speakers from the Ethiopian National Defense Forces,” the statement said. The statement went on to state that during the ‘national law enforcement operation’, Tigrinya speakers members of the ENDF were afforded their salaries and benefits whilst staying home for the sake of what it called the ‘success of the operation and internal coherence’. It stressed that when this conflict is resolved, Tigrinya speakers who are based in their homes and those who returned from peacekeeping operations [both of which are entitled to their rights and benefits] will return to the ENDF to serve their country.

Source: Ethiopian News April 28, 2022 10:29 UTC