Tigray conflict: Ethiopian rebels advance further

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Fighters of the Ethiopian army (archive picture): severe setback

Photo: Amanuel Sileshi / AFP

After an advance by the People's Liberation Front of Tigray (TPLF) on the strategically important city of Dessie, the affected Ethiopian Amhara region de facto declared a state of emergency.

With a few exceptions, all government institutions must support the war effort with immediate effect, as stated in an "Urgent Call for Action". All vehicles are commandeered for the military; the security forces may expressly take action against anyone who hinders the war effort. In addition, all activities in the municipalities are prohibited after 8 p.m., as announced by the State Council of the Amhara region.

The Ethiopian government had previously announced that its troops had decided to tactically withdraw from parts of Dessie to avoid civilian casualties.

The day before, the TPLF had declared that it had brought the city under its control.

The central government initially denied this.

Government spokesman Legesse Tulu announced on Sunday that there were still fierce fighting in and around Dessie and the neighboring town of Kombolcha.

In view of the largely blocked telephone and Internet connections, there was initially no independent information.

The two cities of Dessie and Kombolcha are considered strategically important.

They are located on a main artery that leads to the capital, Addis Ababa, just under 400 kilometers to the south.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed emphasized in the evening that the government troops were fighting the TPLF on four fronts.

The US government had already responded on Saturday to initial reports of a case in the city by calling on both sides to immediately start negotiations on an unconditional ceasefire. In addition, the TPLF should withdraw from the Afar and Amhara regions bordering Tigray and avoid artillery bombardment of cities. There is no military solution to the conflict, said US State Department spokesman Ned Price.

The military conflict began about a year ago when Abiy began ousting the TPLF, which was in power in the Tigray region.

She dominated Ethiopia for a good 25 years until Abiy came to power in 2018.

Many people in Tigray feel that they are not represented by the central government and are demanding more autonomy.

Since the beginning of August, the conflict has spread to the neighboring regions of Afar and Amhara.

The clashes have led to a serious humanitarian crisis in the north of the country.

There are increasing calls on social media calling for Tigrayers to be excluded from Ethiopia's public life.

Tulu called on the public to track down and isolate unspecified "traitors".

Abiy also called for a very careful observation of those "who work for the enemy and live among us."

mic / dpa-afx