forest officials in southern india have pulled off a mammoth task by successfully rescuing an elephant from a well. it fell in the after straying into a village in time ill not to state. rescuers spent 12 hours following the elephant out. husing, a crane veterinarians had to sedate at the comment, but officials say it was later found to be healthy and active. and now a reminder of the top stories on our, there are warnings, the escalating conflict in te gray will lead to a humanitarian crisis. that will devastate ethiopia and sudan. the united nations warns more than $2000000.00 children are at risk. 30000 people have already fled into sudan, and the aid agencies are planning for as many as 200000 ethiopian government forces . meanwhile, say that they've taken 2 major towns in tikrit,

ugandan opposition politician bobby wine has been released on bail after being charged over actions likely to spread coronavirus. officials accuse the presidential candidate of violating covert $91000.00 restrictions. well, campaigning for the presidential election in january at least 28 people are now known to have died in the protests sparked by his of rest on wednesday. u.s. republican party leaders from the state of michigan were greeted by protesters as they arrived in washington for talks with president donald trump. his lawyers say state legislatures should ignore results in swing states like michigan and give their electoral college votes to trump. no state legislature in our country's history ever has done what donald trump is apparently agitating for the michigan state legislature to do which is to ignore the results of the popular vote election

and wrest control from the voters or attempt to wrest control from the voters and appoint their own slate of electors to send to washington. now, the reason is never happened before is that it cannot be done. and the constitution does not permit a state legislature to do would donald trump wants the disk of state legislature to do so. and us pharmaceutical company, pfizer and its german partner biotech, will become the world's 1st companies to seek emergency authorization for their corona virus vaccine health secretary alex asat has described the move as the light at the end of the tunnel because it means a vaccine that could be available within weeks. well that's the news up front is that it's that talking with people on both sides of the ethiopian conflict that have one use for new in half an hour. thanks for watching.

last year if the o.p.'s prime minister won the nobel peace prize, now he's waging war in the countryside, north. what happened to democracy and who's to blame allies? 2 senior officials from both sides of the conflict in this week's upfront special and just a few weeks, a power struggle in ethiopia between prime minister and the rebellious region of the country's north. as escalated into armed conflict. earlier this month, the government launched air raids on t. gray after it accused its leaders to tikrit people's liberation front or p.l.f.

of attacking a military base. the t.p.o. left denies the attack, but with communications down and video barred. it's impossible to verify claims made by each side, and now 100 supported killed tens of thousands fleeing to neighboring sudan and missile attacks on eritrea's capital. there are fears the conflict could spill beyond borders and trigger a humanitarian crisis to me to defend at explain the position as that's a hot to same or an advisor to the regional state government of te grey and former ambassador to the u.n. . the surface out to say my thank you so much for joining me on outfront. thank you for having me. so you're a member of the people's liberation front, the t p l f, which ruled ethiopia for almost 30 years until 2018. when i became the prime minister. now your party has been basically feuding with him ever since then. and now the situation has deteriorated into war bombings, massacres, rockets fired into eritrea and deepening ethnic divisions. what happened to

democracy? i just go for that if i did not truly going to leave for the city for the last 70 years that i was to be called addicted. you were the dominant party though . what if it was a dominant, it must stop being because it was a prime minister who was dominated the party because of his intellect and what have you, but that is about the whole world wants to believe that the tippett is some minority under 7 or 6000000 people who are dominating if you appear, but i'd like to defer that if it is not, i mean, assuming any part of the country except its own region, how to set off to cry. did bad things happen for the thing? 7 units? yes. and whether it is i.v. didn't come out of nowhere. he was a member of the leadership. he was a member of the central committee executive committee, head of the national security. what have you before including that took care of

and the other affiliated parties. and i'm going to say the idea of did accept that responsibility and they wanted to do for me if you, we stick with taking the development out for it in a feat. but what you just said earlier, the shortcomings in the problems that we have. why did i view, do he believe? is the problem of the country on the ticket? if he demolished the fair that allowed him to mint egypt eyes in multinational country. we have been out of intimate affair that i listed. even if you want to do that, you have to go through the corners to should he divided his political thinking among what you call us to make versus you need to state it so that if you had a fuse to participate in this kind of what you have going for the last century or so and so you can sense it. ok. and some of these things that you are saying are valid concerns and we plan to put that to the other guest that we have and speaks

on behalf of the government. i have more questions for you in the meantime. so the team p.l.s. had an opportunity to join the unity government and december and, and you did and you turned it down. why? because the political parties to keep are to appeal. this policy is a unitary state. he is getting read off the faded out of enjoyment. again, it's just you should that to feel if paid over 60000 feet is due to young people. i guess it does to bring avalos. the fear that i'm old mission and nationality should big have an exam. so the 4 weeks ahead of both is how yes you know them are either you have just photocopied what he wants to be. no free that or not and you meant so there's a bit of said no, it's not me, we're not. so you're saying i 40 people, i say are saying that he felt that it wasn't in your party's best interest. i'm actually glad that you brought up eritrea. let's talk about that right now because

there is a concern that what is happening between abbie's government and the t.p. left could spiral beyond ethiopia's borders. this past weekend that spokesperson, pataki read it confirmed that the team had fired rockets on quote, military targets. not anything but in eritrea on the capital asmara that certainly seems reckless. what is the goal. 'd what is too great trying to accomplish, doing this to eritrea? let me tell you about the background to a fair trial and the current system, isn't it? you appear to? it could be for us to see 1st answer. the question just what it was. i am going to answer the question, but you have to have the background. what has happened is, you know, the current will notice and the period if you did fight side by side to get rid of the court order to move to a city. jim 9 to war and in 1908,

is how yes opened a war against taking a border issue as an excuse. he was defeated and he has a good idea is that they're going to be put in the to be and if, because that time. but i missed it was in each of the defense forces where mainly the how of the 100. so i said if i could afford your defense, let me finish. so to use here, i said, i hate to destabilize and didn't know they would you that i side by side what we have thanks. crossing the border before the fear, if there is an army, is making clothes or party seeking regime change and to destabilize eritrea. it is not, it is not there to feel if it's business secure. that is human, i was, it is protecting itself. i mean, you know, it's only what we say. yes. yes, i just did it because you can confirm it from the sources of the south sudan government. he has asked the 450000 soldiers to defeat,

to go to the border that the forces into that incited to go back. they have completely destroyed a border town. there's a number, i can say that it into so that ok, so eritrea. so i would, i'd let you have your time. so just a moment eritrea does deny that i want to talk. now more about the human toll about what is happening. amnesty international confirmed that likely hundreds of people were either stabbed or hat to death and make in the region almost 27000, people have fled the country. hundreds of people are dead. families are being traumatized. thousands of people are homeless. is all of this worth it for the fight for autonomy? enough not a single last resort. most of the members, but it is the people are defending themselves. and right, why do those tentative? they didn't of course,

no border. they did not fight. they did nothing to to be you completely one just people, genocide is and this is if it should be, it should be in the cushions of the people they international community bestowed upon a noble peace prize that has a license to own such as it still doesn't care enough to decide is a very strong word in a lot of what's happening in the region. unfortunately, it's very difficult to confirm because the region is so is so cut off. but just to be clear, when you say something like that, you talk about the outside world. what happens at the t.p. left cannot count on cartoon to facilitate links to the outside world as it has in the past. i mean land lot as the land locked, pardon me, between the rest of ethiopia, eritrea and sudan. the really is not

a lot of connection to the outside world, but khartoum is not in the same position that it has been in the past to facilitate any of this. what happens to the t.p. left, if it cannot count on khartoum to facilitate that? what's happening? first of all, if i am telling you, if you go out and if it is not true, you should ask the international community. the media, like the b.b.c. to be out allowed to go into the ground to get our it is completely equal, not off. there is nothing that's come out the government out of the afghan hound because of how the media because international relation is. but this didn't come out of the states, i am sure, including by international media. the international community should call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and all or part of the should come to no bush. you can table that has to be a money said to kowtow to suck. are you concerned that this could erupt into a proxy war? it is already and you know, war. i just told to editor i was there, you have said that about eritrea. eritrea has denied that,

are you still concerned that it could become broader than that? there is a possibility of gulf rivalries being ignited. how concerned are you about that? it is already there. you know, if you is there, it's hard to deny and i said, look, i am here in new york talking to many countries. they do have their own sites and i think they know many constitutional what's happening as of egypt. they just want to look the other way. so editor is involved. he just sunk into. if you don't take my word for it, i sort of a took piano government to allow you to go to the i'm going to tell me what, what is the end goal for the t.p. l.f. . what is it that you want for ethiopia that to get out of people who wanted to live in peace as you call it was a restore one on the 10000000 into a pianist? no more nor less. they went to i do. he said of themselves. they were not accept that tight on the government dictating them like it has happened in the last 3 days

. snuffy, so it is out of me. they have been doing this out for 2527 years. they don't want to give up on that. believe me, that restores you can't be honest. i also want to do that. they just don't to have this strong defense that they can i put enough or no, he has. this government has weak killing the almost a war life us for 2 and a half years it took, we have been known for this. the 4 that our spiritual is to leave was in ethiopia. so long as they had a suspect, as their culture is respected, they can be satisfied in the state. ok, i want to ask you one last question. what is your message to the people of ethiopia beyond t? great people are scared and some of them might even say that this conflict is about a power struggle between the elites and has nothing to do with them. what, what's your message to them? the vast majority of future pianists know, very aware this is not the power struggle because the violence that killing half

the displacement has been in all part in all of that. but to get i for the last 2 years, we both to come to a negotiating table. people are suffering, people are dying, and therefore, they feel if he's ready to do that, government is ready, source that inclusion for their political thinking that has to participate. we need to go toward negotiations and come out of the particular solution. otherwise, yes, that's a good i know by any standards. just too strong. a national academies for special forces from a very stiff mobilized. but they have more to exact to live that have a history that will be the final word. that's a hard to say my thank you so much for joining us on a project. next up, i'm joined by zytiga, prague. prime minister. i'll be at metz minister in charge of democratisation who

until last year was actually a member of the t.p. l.f. himself. so take a broad thank you for joining me on up front. a year ago, at the obvious prime minister was awarded the nobel peace prize at the time. this is what he said. it's very striking. he said, war is the epitome of hell for all involved. i know because i was there, and back. now he is bombing part of his own country. the country is on the brink of civil war. what happened see years ago, the people of ethiopia now split the loan. and if you have the kind of, you know, 4th, if you get, if you still do, believe, was given the chance to believe students was too good to be resistant to study of doing it is a really key. and then you can use this go isn't, let's talk about how things have escalated so far and how to deescalate that. and, so the u.n. secretary general and tony,

good terrorists actually call for immediate measures to deescalate tensions and ensure a peaceful resolution to the dispute. the tiberi regional president has publicly appealed to the african union to mediate this conflict. yet abhi outlet has refused offers of mediations. he says, this is an internal affair and it, and assuring the rule of law, why won't the prime minister allow mediators with for one thing, we have to be part of those initiated them to be forces of change for the past 3 years to believe chose to be here and i don't know that betty let well, let me out in that many of the families of the just a moment on this day. notice all of us just a moment though, why, why won't the prime minister allow mediators well, you know, who will, who, which government would sit in there, which is we see don't in which it was a terrorist group that chose to kill our citizens. we had to do it to defend it.

again, people from a force of it for you know, the mission, is this government, when it comes to peace cannot be questioned. we are the ones that are suited to get a loan, maybe to eat it, to get it, is the potential. so to do this piece today of how this is normal and to question, oh, i'm going to go into the waiting just a moment or some of us are in you call them a terrorist group. that's a very, very harsh language, a group of which you were recently just a part of. but are you saying that there is no way to have any type of dialogue? the prime minister is a nobel prize winner. are you saying that he cannot sit down with this fellow country men be at the, the t.p.s. later to sort out some sort of nonviolent solution. he spoke with eritrea and work things out. is there not a way for him to deal with, with regional governments that something that if he has to fail if spokesperson has even call for this out in total, out of their country men, these people choice to shoot in the foot of our sort of yes,

i do sleep these people and i have to loot as to how to do it. that would have meant to put it on people from any place you put in addition, this season, it is in this act of maximum sort of that one can possibly imagine. you cannot sit down, you cannot be asked, what did. but the standard is that you had serious, serious allegations about that. but the un human rights chief has warned that the situation could spiral out of controls that war crimes may already have been committed. more than 2 27000 refugees have fled to sid and mc international supported large numbers, potentially hundreds of deadly hackings in an stabbings. integrate just last week, whichever side is responsible and a lot of this is very difficult to confirm from, from either side because of a blackout there. whichever side of responsible are you saying that that

a dialogue to stop this is just completely off the table and that it has to be force to give it in order to move the parties at least as, as if one of the said i knew this because a country, and that is not going to be easy simply trying to bait so that it would be needed to go to the country. so the military increases the citizens. but you know, this is a serious thing to lose what to eat. it's going to be a nice tender you know, you call that a terrorist group. and i do want to point out that you were not willing to sit down with the representative from the team for a debate on this program. that's why we're conducting these separate one on one interviews. but i do want to put some of the allegations against the prime minister from the t.v. tail off to you because they're very, very serious. so touchy,

read books per cent, call the prime minister of violence entrepreneur who is using security forces to suppress dissent, kill and maim hundreds of people at will, and to incarcerate, and to jail, thousands of opposition. members, what is your response to that claim? that's a larry zocor these through to the family. so how does that show the new raising of hope in ethiopia? since he took power in ethiopia, if you're going to have, you know, we're going to be happy, you know, ethiopians. how about 70 years here against i thought for a while to see but, and they have created enough chances, but every chance i got, i bought it in may come you said what mr. junta needs the sun. if you were here, if you're going to determine, you know, how to make it what it was a bit democracy, a democratic success, what do you get into it? i said, is there a way that you know,

he's ok talking about his own money. that's exactly becoming ok, hold on, hold on. well, but just a moment. it's not just a t.v. a left though. that is saying things like that that is concerned that abby is go and potentially in an authoritarian direction. ethiopia's own human rights commission said the country detained, more than 9000 people. between may and august, after protests broke out on the road. here regent, a prominent activist, was dragged by police from his bed in the middle of the night, as he slept next to his pregnant wife. abbie's biggest challenger, dr. mohamad, us in prison on charges of terrorism. this is not just coming from the team p.l.f. . this is their leader and we were not brought in new, we were free for this. we but we were free form has brought about its losers and winners. the people just built on a democratic endeavor is not going to make the movie and they're trying to become a roadblock to making it here. and it won't accept us,

don't 100. if you see his case, it's part of who is pretty dire, presiding over the case. so we can all make a full assessment. but if you see, once again, president evasions and president journalists, and opponents is not something that just happens because you're trying to do business on the phone. and this is a matter of the rule of law. a lot easier though. he committed a crime. you're talking about one person. i said 9000. people were in jail. i said 9000 people. a number has to be shared, but still forces were brought in this country. it is your own human rights commission. that is saying that 9000 number this, this is this. he, my commission is on its own in this commission, but it doesn't mean we have to constrain the numbers. there's a report from human rights watch, warders, 83 of his own human rights commission that says that to gray and say that they are being targeted based on their ethnicity. i'm not talking about the leadership that

there are specific incidents of to great and saying that they are being singled out and targeted based on their ethnicity. what do you say about that? i don't want that there. i don't want us 6000000 to gran's. only 10 or 20 of these people are brought to it immediately and so brought to a court of law on the own, on their own solutions of corruption. so no, no, i'm not. and i'm not talking about being arrested. i'm talking about people saying that they are been suspended from their job that they're not being allowed to fly. the that's not the case. this government does not discriminate in one building and it's messy. so that this government is, i mean is this, i guess a struggle for existence. and so are you saying that what they're saying is not true and can you not at least condemn it? you know, if i'm telling you there are people within hours, television and that are new to these disparate. and we got to take

a city many years without that there is not indiscriminate disc, indiscriminate, the 2nd is the games. this is not what the government stands for. what action to be condemned for the time. stacey's, i'm saying it is essential that has been done here in ethiopia, or we'll call it feet. but just to be clear, the ethiopian human rights commission has for see what they consider to be valid complaints from people. and that they have learned that a justified risk or threat or fear of ethnic profiling. and discrimination has risen. that is directly from the human rights commission and our own country. you're still saying that it's not happening. as i said, that there are people that are connected with it to believe that if you mean you said it was people other ways it is no indiscriminate. the 2nd stadium's, if he says if you eat better, maybe to get it easy, no trying to get to it. if he's trying to accuse us of a few people. so there are

a lot of course of people to say, i would say, as i mentioned earlier, the prime minister is a nobel prize winner for has efforts in bringing peace to the region. the conflict that is happening now, not only threatens ethiopia, but also neighboring sudan, eritrea somalia. how worried are you and the prime minister about that? a prime minister who says he's about peace. that's wrong. this, he said domestic issue to us. this is, you know, we need to sort of images. you can, you can't, you know what i'm about, and what happens in ethiopia does have a trickle down effect on other countries in the region. yes, it does. but it's the prettiest. but when it comes to this, why we let me tell you, carry on, you know, the state of the proclamation that we live eat, is only applicable in this conflict is not even politically known. so there is no,

so it is in ethiopia, it because we are, there are thousands of people. there are thousands of people that are fleeing going to neighboring sabbat. this is something that we are going to, and this is sort of, you know, people, if is the reason behind the decision. and one of the it was the reason behind just 2 minutes between the 2 days due to appear in the media for it for more than 2 kids today. what is your message to the people? not just to gray and to to everybody. people are scared, they're living in fear, and some would even say that this conflict is about a power struggle between people that are not connected to their lives. this is another power struggle i used to believe that is resisting that is trying to me. and i learned of it as something to change

and i don't know what are you don't have the cause to, which is that doesn't exist. and all the people we all sat down part and parcel of the struggle. and the same things we saw with the south course of if you can, people including the people that will be the final word. so take a prop, thank you so much for joining us on upright. thank you. thank you. and that is our show for now. i'll be back next week

business leaders to grasp our business leaders is by no brass power play an important role.

ringback hello there, i'm barbara starr in london. these are the top stories on al-jazeera. there are warnings, the escalating conflict in t. gray would lead to a humanitarian crisis that will devastate ethiopia. and so that the united nations, a warns that more than 2000000 children are at risk through he 1000 people have already fled into. so than and the aid agencies are planning for as many as 200000 ethiopian government forces. meanwhile, say they've taken 2 major towns in t. . great mohammad, that though is in the capital addis ababa, he says the conflict looks to be heading for a final battle with the grey and for.