Ethiopian Leader Orders Final Assault on Dissident Capital
- Abiy urges Mekelle residents to disarm, remain indoors
- Food, fuel in short supply across Tigray region, UN says
A soldier allied to Ethiopian National Defense Forces in Dansha, Ethiopia, on Nov. 25.
Photographer: Eduardo Soteras/AFP/Getty Images
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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered the army to begin an assault on Mekelle, the dissident Tigray state capital, after a 72-hour deadline for its forces to surrender expired.
Abiy ordered an incursion into Tigray three weeks ago, the culmination of months of tension between his administration and the northern state’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting and there have been heavy casualties, although no accurate figures are available.