Hosia Mviringi
The African Union Commission (AUC) has dismissed a false report circulating on Social media allegedly from the office of the Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.
The false statement alleges that the AU Chairperson has called for temporary relocation of the Commission and its staff from Addis Ababa due to security fears as a result of the raging civil conflict and ethnic violence in the country’s Tigray region.
“The African Union Commission has learnt of the existence of a report circulating on social media purporting to be an official internal memo attributed to the Chairperson of the Commission, allegedly calling for a temporary relocation of the Commission and its staff from Ethiopia,” said the AUC statement
“The report is fake and has no basis not form”.
This follows the declaration of a state of emergency by the Ethiopian government on November 2, 2021, in the wake of escalating ethnic violence and civil unrest in the Tigray region threatening a wider conflict.
The United States embassy in Ethiopia on November 5, 2021, responded by issuing a travel warning to US citizens intending to travel to Ethiopia describing the situation as ‘unsafe’.
Zambia too has done the same.
In addition, the embassy ordered voluntary evacuation of all none emergency staff and citizens saying that the situation may escalate and lead to supply chain disruptions, communication blackouts and travel disruptions.
The African Union remains seized with the situation in Ethiopia which remains of gross concern as a humanitarian crisis looms.
On November 3, 2021, the African Union Commission issued a statement reaffirming its position on the conflict while reassuring the world that the AU is fully engaging all parties through its Representative for the Horn of Africa, former Nigerian President H.E Olusegun Obasanjo.
“The Commission reiterates the African Union’s continued commitment to work with the parties in support of a consensual political process”.
“To this end, the Chairperson calls on the parties to engage with the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa, former Nigerian President H.E Olusegun Obasanjo,” said the AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat in a statement.
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