At a press conference held today in Addis Ababa, following the arrest of several United Nations personnel, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs today confirmed that Addis Ababa would punish United Nations personnel if they did not abide by the law.

Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dinah Mufti said: "United Nations personnel residing in Ethiopia must respect the law of the country. They live in Ethiopia, not in space, and whether they are United Nations or African Union personnel, they must be held accountable."

It is reported that the Ethiopian government is fighting a war with the Tigray Liberation Forces, while the latter has made progress threatening to march into the capital.

Media reports reported that hundreds of Tigray people had been arrested in Addis Ababa, as well as 16 United Nations staff members whose nationalities had not been disclosed.

Yesterday, the United Nations revealed that the Ethiopian authorities had arrested 72 drivers working for the World Food Programme (WFP) in the north of the country, which has been in war for a year.

It should be noted that this revelation came a day after the organization announced the arrest of 22 of its employees in the capital, Addis Ababa, in a development that could fuel tensions with the Ethiopian Government, which in September expelled seven senior United Nations officials because of what it said was "interference" in the country's affairs.