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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Saturday that the “total command” of the regional Tigray state capital Mekelle marked the completion of military operations by the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF).
“The federal government now has full control of the city of Mekelle,” Ahmed said, emphasizing that the “main operation” of the fighting between the Ethiopian army and forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) ” now it is concluded. “
“With the total dominance of the regional capital, this marks the culmination of the last phase of the ENDF. The federal police will now continue their task of arresting the TPLF criminals and bringing them to court, ”Ahmed said in a statement issued Saturday.
According to Ahmed, the ENDF has so far managed to secure the release of thousands of Northern Command officers held hostage by the TPLF, secure the Northern Command camp, and seize control of the airport, public institutions, the regional administration office, and others. critical facilities. .
He also stressed that the Ethiopian army carried out the operation “with precision and due care for the citizens, ensuring that civilians are not the target.”
According to Ahmed, the people of the Tigray region “have provided the greatest support and cooperation to the Ethiopian National Defense Force in every corner.”
The prime minister also stressed that “now we have before us the critical task of rebuilding what was destroyed, repairing what was damaged, returning those who have fled, with the highest priority of returning normalcy to the people of the Tigray region.”
“The federal government appreciates the concern shown by the international community,” Ahmed said, asking “friends from Ethiopia to come together to rebuild the Tigray region and provide its people with the respite, humanitarian assistance and security they deserve. “.
Ahmed’s remarks came shortly after Ethiopian Defense Forces Chief of Staff Berhanu Jula announced on Saturday that the Ethiopian army had “completely controlled the city of Mekelle.”
Noting that the Ethiopian army now has full control of the last TPLF stronghold, the Chief of Staff stressed that the defense forces “are now hunting anti-peace forces in and around the city of Mekelle.”
According to Jula, the defense forces have also released more than 7,000 defense force members who were captured by the TPLF fighters during the TPLF assault on the army base near the city of Mekelle, which ultimately led to the start of the fighting.
The latest development came after the federal government announced on Thursday the beginning of the “third and final phase” of military operations towards the city of Mekelle, capital of the Tigray region, a city of more than 500,000 inhabitants where believes that senior leaders of the TPLF are in place. .
The Ethiopian Defense Forces reportedly surround the city of Mekelle, capital of the regional state of Tigray. The Ethiopian army had previously revealed that it had captured villages adjacent to the city of Mekelle.
On Saturday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, emphasized that “concern for the safety of civilians is growing within Ethiopia’s Tigray region, particularly in and around the capital Mekelle, which is home to 500,000 people. . “
The agency also highlighted that “there are reports that basic services are paralyzed while the security situation continues to deteriorate. It is feared that the number of internally displaced persons within Tigray by the fighting, as well as towards other regions of Ethiopia, is increasing daily ”.
Since the early hours of November 4, the Ethiopian government has launched military operations against the TPLF, which governs Ethiopia’s northernmost regional state of Tigray.
Federal government operations followed the TPLF attack on the northern command base of the Ethiopian Defense Force, a division stationed in the region for more than two decades and based in the city of Mekelle, capital of the region of Tigray.
Before the ongoing fighting, the Ethiopian government has been blaming the TPLF, which was one of the four fronts in the coalition of Ethiopia’s former ruling party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), for planning various acts of treason. in different parts of the country with a general objective of destabilizing the country.
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