 Ethiopian staff working for the United Nations or African Union do not live in space and will be punished for any law-breaking. That's the stern warning from Aris Ababa, following the arrest of several UN employees for a specified offences. Take a listen. United Nations staff will be punished for breaking the law. The Ethiopian government has warned, saying they are not in space. Those comments from Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Dina Mufti on Thursday, following the arrest of several UN employees for unspecified offences. They're not in space. They're in Ethiopia. They have to respect Ethiopia's law one by one. If they don't respect the law of the land, they will be legally held accountable. Whether they are UN or African Union staff. Ethiopia declared a state of emergency earlier this month after rebellious forces from the northern Tigray region and their allies threatened to march on the capital. Since then, hundreds of Tigrayans have been arrested in Aris Ababa, their families and colleagues have said, along with 16 UN staff members, whose ethnicity has not been revealed. Seven of the UN staff were later released. Police say the arrests are not ethnically motivated. Foreign citizens have also been caught up, with governments of the U.S., Britain and Italy reporting nationals detained. Over the past week, envoys from the African Union and the U.S. have visited Ethiopia to push for a ceasefire in the year-long conflict with the Tigray People's Liberation Front. But at the briefing, Mufti reiterated the government's position. That is, the talks will not be held until the TPLF withdraws, stops attacks and recognises the government's legitimacy. The TPLF said last week it had seized the town of Kamis, 200 miles from Addis. On Thursday, state-affiliated broadcaster Fana reported that the Ethiopian military had repelled attacks near Kamis and pushed back forces near the strategic town of Mele. A TPLF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.