Ethiopia's Abiy Vows to Continue Tigray Offensive https://t.co/wP3KCkUjBF #Ethiopia pic.twitter.com/d77MBkDiWq
— allAfrica.com (@allafrica) November 6, 2020
Ethiopian PM announces airstrikes in country’s Tigray region
[IsraelTimes] Æthiopia’s prime minister says his government has carried out
...KABOOM!...
s against the forces of the country’s well-armed Tigray region, asserting that strikes in multiple locations "completely destroyed rockets and other heavy weapons" and made a retaliatory attack impossible.
Abiy Ahmed’s evening announcement marks another escalation in festivities this week that experts say could slide one of Africa’s most powerful and populous countries into civil war. The conflict pits former allies in the nation’s ruling coalition, with the federal government and regional government now regarding each other as illegal.
There was no mention of casualties in what Abiy calls the "first round of operation" against the region’s government, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. He said the air force destroyed heavy weapons in Tigray’s capital, Mekele, and surrounding areas, alleging the TPLF "has the desire to use them."
The operation will continue, Abiy says, "until the junta is made accountable by law." And he warned the Tigray population: "In order to avoid unexpected peril, I advise that you limit group movements in cities."
There was no immediate response from the Tigray government, while the region is increasingly boxed in by movement restrictions and a six-month state of emergency imposed by the federal government.
The military operation launched early Wednesday after Abiy accused the Tigray government of a deadly attack on a military base. He asserted Friday that months of trying to resolve differences with the regional government have failed. Now, he said, the operation has "clear, limited and achievable objectives: to restore the rule of law and the constitutional order."
And with that, the prime minister appears to close the door on dialogue, which some experts and diplomats say is desperately needed.