In a televised address on Wednesday, Ethiopian Army Chief of Staff Berhanu Jula denounced Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a longtime member of the Ethiopian government but currently head of the World Health Organization (WHO), as a “criminal” for supporting the Tigray separatists who are fighting against the government in Addis Ababa.
The increasingly vicious civil war threatens to expand into a regional conflict, as the Tigrayans accused neighboring Eritrea of supporting the Ethiopian government and launched rockets into Eritrea this week. The conflict has already produced humanitarian crises including widespread hunger and refugees.
Tedros, has not taken a public position on the conflict. Berhanu stated that Tedros is secretly aiding the Tigray separatists behind the scenes, including helping them to obtain weapons, and called on him to step down from his position at WHO.
“What do you expect from him? We don’t expect he will side with the Ethiopian people and condemn them,” Berhanu added, labeling Tedros as a “criminal.”