A spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said in his daily press briefing that 22 local UN staff members were arrested in Ethiopia and six were later released.
Dujarric stated that they were not given a clear explanation of why the UN staff were arrested, and they were reported to be working with the Ethiopian government to immediately release 16 UN staff members.
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It is noteworthy that the arrests took place after a 4-day visit of the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths to Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian government had announced earlier that seven members of the United Nations “persona non grata”, accusing them of interfering in their internal affairs.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was “unlawful” for Ethiopia to expel UN staff from the country.
The Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency on 2 November due to attacks by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and formed defensive task forces against possible attacks on Addis Ababa.
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Clashes between the Federal Army and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front for the Liberation of Tigray have been ongoing in the country since November 2020.
The 11-month conflict in the north of the country has displaced nearly 2.5 million people.
