Ethiopian minister claims US embassy in Addis Ababa is ‘a terrorist’

ADDIS ABABA — An Ethiopian minister has thrust himself in the eye of controversy after labelling Washington’s Mission in Addis Ababa as “a terrorist that should leave the country.”

Mr Eyob Takalign Tolina, Ethiopia’s state minister for finance, accuses the US Embassy in Addis Ababa of provoking violence and accelerating terrorism.

In a Facebook post, he claimed that the US Embassy is fueling tensions by creating fears through issuing of security alerts.

Last week, the embassy warned about the risks of a terror attack in Ethiopia’s capital and elsewhere in the country.

It also warned US citizens to leave the Horn state over the risk of escalating violence as the Tigray People’s Liberations Front (TPLF) advances to the capital.

“I am writing as a proud citizen, not as a state minister of Ethiopia. US Embassy, Addis Ababa, posted one badly terrorising false information four times in five days. The target is the economy. It is trying to block commercial mobilities to and from Ethiopia by creating fake fears.

“Huge damage has been caused by the repeated terrorist act of the Embassy! Thus, the embassy has unequivocally proved itself to be a terrorist! I think Diplomacy has its own limits and protocols,” the minister wrote.

Mr Eyob stressed that Ethiopians do not want their country to be another Libya or Iraq, where the controversial involvement of the US military saw the governments toppled and the countries unable to build new stable administrations.

“Dear US embassy, kindly leave Ethiopia immediately, and gradually Africa”.

The minister’s statement comes days after the US government asked its citizens to leave Addis Ababa when reports emerged that TPLF rebels were advancing towards the capital.

Other diplomatic missions, like those of Germany, the United Kingdom and Turkey, have also asked their nationals to leave. Zambia has airlifted its citizens.

As of Wednesday, PM Abiy Ahmed announced he would join the front line, where government forces are battling the TPLF, prompting US-led international calls for a diplomatic solution and an immediate ceasefire.

Foreign envoys have been frantically pushing for a ceasefire, though there have been few signs a breakthrough is coming.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a swift end to the fighting on his visit to Colombia to mark the fifth anniversary of a peace deal between the government and former Farc rebels.