Switzerland calls for de-escalation and dialogue in Ethiopia
A blood drive in support of the Ethiopian military at a stadium in the capital Addis Ababa on Thursday. Rallies occurred in multiple cities in support of the government's military offensive against the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
Keystone
Switzerland has expressed its concern about developments in Ethiopia, calling for a de-escalation of violence and a return to dialogue. It has also advised against travelling to the Tigray region in the northern part of the country.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/Reuters/ts
In a statementExternal link on Friday the foreign ministry said anyone who was on the ground in the Tigray region should exercise the utmost caution and follow the instructions of the local authorities. A deterioration in the security situation in other parts of the country could not be ruled out, it said.
Keystone
After months of tension between the Ethiopian government in Addis Ababa and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the government recently launched an offensive against the armed group and the ruling party of Tigray.
Hundreds of people have been killed in the 11-day-old war. In a tweet on Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry urged that human rights and international humanitarian law be respected and that humanitarian aid for needy civilians not be hindered.
The United Nations, the African Union and others are concerned that the fighting could spread to other parts of Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, and destabilise the wider Horn of Africa region.
Two airports in Ethiopia’s Amhara state, which neighbours Tigray, were targeted by rocket fire late on Friday, Reuters reported.
More than 14,500 people have fled into neighbouring Sudan, with the speed of new arrivals “overwhelming the current capacity to provide aid”, the UN refugee agency said on Friday.
Popular Stories
More
Multinational companies
Azeri fossil-fuel cash cow brings controversy to Switzerland
Swiss price watchdog slams excessive prices for generic medicines
This content was published on
The cheapest generic medicines available in Switzerland are more than twice as expensive as in other countries, according to a study by the Swiss price watchdog.
Nature should not figure in net zero calculations: academic study
This content was published on
The natural removal of CO2 from the atmosphere by forests or oceans should not be included in the net-zero balance of climate protection measures, argue researchers.
This content was published on
None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.
This content was published on
Nestlé's new CEO Laurent Freixe, has presented plans for the future of the world's largest food company, after his first few weeks in office.
Swiss foreign minister calls on Moscow to end Ukraine war
This content was published on
It's high time Moscow ended its war against Ukraine, Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis tells the UN Security Council.
This content was published on
The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
Study reveals food culture differences between Switzerland and neighbours
This content was published on
Three-quarters of Swiss people consider eating to be a pleasurable, social activity, a new survey reveals. Healthy eating, however, plays a much less important role, it found.
This content was published on
Kellenberger, then a Swiss diplomat, took over the leadership of the Geneva-run ICRC in a year which had seen a spike in violence, notably in the Horn of Africa. The ICRC’s budget in 2000 stood at SFr1 billion ($1.04 billion), up some 30 per cent on 1999. The budget since then has had some small…
This content was published on
But the climate is by no means the only cause of the humanitarian crisis, as aid expert Fred Lauener tells swissinfo.ch. He says food speculation is also to blame. The United Nations estimates that 13 million people, including two million children, are victims of the extraordinary drought that has struck Kenya, Ethiopia, Somaliland, Somalia, Uganda…
Ethiopians rally in Bern to protest deportation deal
This content was published on
In April, for the first time in five years, Ethiopia announced it was ready to receive back citizens whose asylum applications in Switzerland had been rejected. This policy change is an outcome of an agreement between the African state and the EU. To be readmitted, the persons concerned must be recognised as Ethiopian nationals. If they…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.