Ethiopian government: the army has taken full control of the capital of the Tigray region

Addis Ababa / Nairobi: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed and Ethiopian Army Chief of Staff Berhanu Gula said in a statement tonight, Saturday, that federal forces “completely took control” of Maqli, the capital. from the Tigray region.

Authorities said earlier in the day that government forces are in the final stage of an attack on the region and will spare no effort to protect civilians in Maqli, which is home to about half a million people.

There were no immediate comments from the Tigrayans fighting government forces in that northern province.

“The federal government now completely controls the city of Muqli,” the prime minister said in a statement on his Twitter page.

This came after a similar statement by the Army Chief of Staff on the army’s official Facebook page.

Complaints from all parties to the conflict between government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front cannot be verified due to the lack of communications and Internet in the region, in addition to the severe restrictions on entry into the region since the beginning of the fighting on November 4.

Hours earlier, a diplomat in direct contact with the residents of Tigray and the commander of the rebel forces in the province said that Ethiopian government forces had launched an offensive to seize control of the city of Maqli, the provincial capital.

The government gave the Tigray People’s Liberation Front last Sunday to lay down their arms or face an attack on Maqli. This deadline expired on Wednesday.

Abi accuses the leaders of the region of starting the war by attacking the Ethiopian force base in the region. The TPLF says the attack was a preemptive strike.

(Reuters)