{"id":12839,"date":"2021-11-02T12:10:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T12:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/axumawian.com\/?p=12839"},"modified":"2021-11-03T10:13:23","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T10:13:23","slug":"ethiopian-capital-prepares-for-attack-as-us-warns-tigrayan-rebels-to-stop-flash-advance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/axumawian.com\/?p=12839","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopian capital prepares for attack as US warns Tigrayan rebels to stop flash advance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Officials in Ethiopia’s capital told residents to start registering all their firearms and preparing for an attack<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: The Telegraph<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

November 2, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US has warned Tigrayan soldiers against advancing on Ethiopia\u2019s capital as residents were told to arm themselves in preparation for battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tigrayan People\u2019s Liberation Front (TPLF) have reportedly seized two key cities<\/a> on a major highway to Addis Ababa, sparking panic in the cosmopolitan city which has so far been spared in the brutal year-long war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday officials ordered the 5m residents to procure any weapon they could and be ready to defend their neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll residents must be organised by blocks and neighbourhoods to protect peace and security in their home area in coordination with security forces,\u201d said Kenea Yadeta, chief of the city’s Peace and Security Administration Bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia\u2019s Nobel Peace Prize-winning President, last year sent the federal army into Tigray in a bid to crush the powerful regional government, which has ruled the whole of the country for much of the past three decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the TPLF, Tigray\u2019s military force, has staged a stunning counter-offensive after initially being beaten back into the mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Abiy\u2019s government has denied claims that the TPLF have made significant territorial gains. A tsunami of fake news, reporting restrictions and frequent communication blackouts make it difficult to confirm events on the ground.

But on Tuesday, the government declared a national state of emergency, indicating the situation was more severe than they were admitting and that the rebels now posed a real threat to the capital.

\u201cLet me be clear: We oppose any TPLF<\/a> move to Addis or any TPLF move to besiege Addis,\u201d Jeffrey Feltman, the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, said.

The US Embassy in Addis Ababa said it \u201cstrongly\u201d suggested that US citizens \u201cseriously reconsider\u201d travel to Ethiopia and told those in the country to consider making preparations to leave.

Half a dozen residents of Addis Ababa said there was a growing sense of panic in the city.

\u201cPolice officers are going from house to house unlawfully detaining ethnic Tigrayans in districts where many ethnic Tigrayans live. Yesterday they rounded up and detained Tigrayans in the districts of Hayahulet, Semet and Bulbula,\u201d claimed one ethnic Tigrayan who lives in the city, who has not been named for security reasons.

\u201cI could not still believe this has happened. I could not believe the fall of the cities and the rapid advance of the rebels to Addis Ababa,\u201d said another ethnic Amhara resident, referring to the cities of Dessie and Kombolcha on the A2 highway, which reportedly fell to rebels over the weekend.

\u201cThe government was lying to us. We are just learning from distant relatives who fled here about the reality. So many of our brothers have died. [Prime minister] Abiy has lost it.\u201d

All of the residents interviewed said that only a few people were adhering to the government call to muster militias.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Abiy’s once-powerful federal army has suffered considerable losses in the conflict at the hands of the TPLF\u2019s hardened guerrilla fighters.

In November 2020, Mr Abiy joined forces with Eritrea’s dictator Isaias Afwerki to crush the heavily armed Tigray regional government in a pincer movement.

Since then, tens of thousands have been killed, and millions pushed to the brink of famine and both sides accused of horrendous human rights abuses.

Ethiopian and Eritrean national forces have been accused of a dizzying array of war crimes<\/a>, ranging from ethnic cleansing, gang rape and famine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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