Ethiopian parliament revokes Tigray officials’ immunity

By Seleshi Tessema

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - As the Ethiopian army’s counter-offensive against the forces of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the Tigray region is underway, the Ethiopian parliament on Thursday revoked the parliamentary immunity of seven top officials of the region suspected of terrorism.

This is the latest in a spate of decisions coming from the federal parliament and the government against the TPLF whose forces last week attacked the Northern Command of the Ethiopian Defense Forces, killing several soldiers and looting military assets.

The upper house of parliament last week approved establishment of an interim government for the Tigray state, effectively rendering the powers of the TPLF null and void in the region.

Tigray regional leader Debretsion Gebremichael and spokesman Getachew Reda were among the MPs stripped of their immunity, the state-affiliated broadcaster FANA reported.

The other big weights who are now fugitives and hiding in the Tigray regional capital Mekele include Asmelash Woldesenbet, Abay Tsehaye, Ambassador Adisalem Balema, Atsbeha Aregawi, and Gebregziabher Araya.

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused the TPLF forces of committing the most gruesome crime against the Ethiopian army.

Ahmed tweeted that the TPLF forces in Shiraro, one of the battlefronts in western Tigray, had executed members of the Ethiopian army.

“We have found [bodies of] machine-gunned soldiers with legs and hands tied,” he said, adding: “This is a heartbreaking brutal crime.”

Ahmed also announced that western Tigray has been totally freed from the renegade TPLF forces.