JIGJIGA (SD) – Somali regional state leader in Ethiopia, Mustafe Omer Agjar has vowed to take action against sympathizers of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) amid the fighting between Ethiopian military and TPLF rebels intensified in parts of Ethiopia.

Speaking at inauguration ceremony of a hospital in Shinile, Agjar accused TPLF of previously committing atrocities in Somali region, calling for unity against Ethiopia’s former ruling party.

“In Sitti region, today we are the ones struggling to resolve problems created by TPLF. They (TPLF) create animosity among the people who lived in this region. If it were not their envy, Dire Dawa would have been the headquarters of this region,” the president said.

He said there is no enmity between the peoples of Somali and Tigray, nor has there been any conflict between the two people.

The remarks of the leaders come less than a month Agjar directed the state’s armed forces to defend their territories from Tigrean forces

Agjar termed the Tigrean forces enemy of the people, urging the public work hand in hand with security forces in the fighting to the regional state.

The leader called on the politicians in the state to set aside their differences to defend the state from Tigreans.

“There is no such thing as a ruling or an opposition. There is an enemy. Whoever sided with the TPLF is an enemy, and s/he is our enemy. The enemy of the TPLF is the government and the people who want peace,” Agjar said.

Agjar vowed that his state will side with federal government in the efforts to bush back the rebel forces.