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From: TT
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Photo: Nariman El-Mofty / AP / TT
Tens of thousands of people have fled the fighting in Tigray, Ethiopia, to neighboring Sudan. The photo is from last Wednesday of a camp at al-Qadarif in eastern Sudan.
Ethiopia’s federal forces have begun what the government describes as the final phase of the offensive in the Tigray region, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced, just hours after an ultimatum to the Tigran Liberation Front (TPLF) to expire surrender.
“The 72 hours that the TPLF criminal gang had to peacefully resign are now over and our efforts to maintain law and order have entered their final phase,” Abiy Ahmed tweeted.
He adds that civilians will be saved and claims that thousands of TPLF soldiers have already capitulated.
In recent days, government forces have said they have surrounded the regional capital of Mekele, with about half a million inhabitants, before the final planned offensive. The tone has been threatening on both sides and the UN, the EU and human rights organizations have warned of the risk of serious war crimes.
Hundreds of people have died in three weeks of fighting in Tigray, and tens of thousands have been forced to flee.
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