Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that federal forces had taken “full control” of Tigray’s capital Mekelle within hours of launching an offensive there.
The Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a party whose fight against the govt began on 4 November, said it had been withdrawing from Mekelle.
Thousands of individuals have fled across the Ethiopian border with Sudan since the fighting erupted within the region.
Nearly 1,000,000 people are displaced, including quite 40,000 who fled into Sudan. Camps home to 96,000 Eritrean refugees in northern Tigray are within the line of fireside.
Read also: Sudan needs $150m to care for Ethiopian refugees says UN
The conflict, a long-running power struggle between Addis Ababa and Tigray’s leaders, has spread beyond, with the TPLF firing rockets into both the neighbouring Amhara region and across the border to Eritrea.
Mr Abiy’s government has repeatedly said it’s only targeting TPLF leaders and facilities to revive law and order after they rose up against federal troops. It denies hitting civilians.
The TPLF says Mr Abiy has “invaded” its region to dominate it and is inflicting “merciless” damage on Tigrayans.
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