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BREAK
In a statement hours after an ultimatum for TPLF to surrender expired, the prime minister asked residents of the capital, Makelle, to “stay home.”
The Ethiopian army will begin the “final phase” of an offensive in the northern region of Tigray, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a statement, hours after an ultimatum for Tigray’s forces to surrender expired.
“The 72-hour period given to the TPLF criminal clique to peacefully surrender is over and our law enforcement campaign has reached its final stage,” he tweeted Thursday, referring to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) .
Final phase of rule of law operations begins pic.twitter.com/TAAyZxSe0U
– Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) November 26, 2020
Abiy said the army was ordered to move to Makelle, the capital of Tigray, and warned its residents to “stay indoors.”
The statement from the prime minister’s office means that tanks and other weapons can now approach the city of roughly half a million people.
His government has warned to “show no mercy” if residents do not get away from Tigray’s leaders in time. “We will be extremely careful to protect civilians,” he says.
The new statement claims that thousands of Tigray militias and special forces surrendered during the 72-hour period.
The Reuters news agency said it could not immediately reach the Tigrayan forces for comment.
The claims of all parties have been impossible to verify because telephone and Internet connections to the region are down and access to the area is strictly controlled.
More details soon.
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