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The prime minister’s spokesman, Billene Seyoum, later told Reuters that military operations in Tigray had started, without giving further details.
Two diplomatic sources in Addis Ababa said that heavy fighting, including artillery fire, had broken out in the northern region, which borders Eritrea.
The local Tigray government said the federal army’s Northern Command, which is stationed in the region, had sided with it, a statement that Billene described as “false information.”
The prime minister’s office said the federal government had declared a six-month state of emergency in Tigray to be overseen by the chief of staff of the armed forces.
The internet has been shut down in the region, Internet access monitor NetBlocks said, confirming reports that authorities had shut down phone and internet services.
The Tigrayans dominated Ethiopian politics after guerrillas toppled a Marxist dictator in 1991, but their influence has faded under Abiy. Last year, the TPLF resigned from its ruling coalition.
Since Abiy came to power in 2018, many top Tigray officials have been detained, fired or marginalized, in what the federal government describes as a crackdown on corruption, but the Tigrayans see it as a means of stifling dissent.
Tigray’s population makes up 5% of Ethiopia’s 109 million people, but it is richer and more influential than many other larger regions.
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