Ethiopian Army Takes Control of Tigray Capital

28 November The Ethiopian army announced Saturday that it had taken full control of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region. VOA

“God bless Ethiopia and its people!” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a statement. “We have entered Mekelle without innocent civilians being targets.”

But the leader of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces told Reuters they were not giving up.

“Their brutality can only add [to] our resolve to fight these invaders to the last,” TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael said in a text message. Asked by Reuters if that meant his forces would continue fighting, he replied: “Certainly. This is about defending our right to self-determination.”

‘Heavy bombardment’

Earlier, Gebremichael told Reuters that Mekelle, a city of about 500,000, was under “heavy bombardment” in the final push of the four-week offensive.

In a statement, Abiy outlined the future.

“We now have ahead of us the critical task of rebuilding what was destroyed; repairing what was damaged; returning those who have fled, with the utmost priority of returning normalcy to the people of the Tigray region,” he said.

Federal police will now arrest the TPLF leaders, who will face trial, he said.

Rockets Hit Airports in Eritrea’s Capital, Ethiopia’s Amhara State 14 Nov VOA reports: Three rockets were fired Saturday at the Eritrean capital, Asmara, diplomats said, hours after the leaders of Ethiopia’s Tigray region warned it might attack.

The rockets appeared to be aimed at the capital’s airport. Information about damage or deaths was not available, and Tigray regional officials did not respond to requests for comment.

On Tuesday, Debretsion Gebremichael, the leader of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), accused Eritrea of sending troops across the border in support of Ethiopian government forces, which Eritrea’s Foreign Minister Osman Saleh Mohammed denied, telling Reuters: “We are not part of the conflict.”

Eritrea has long been at odds with the TPLF, experts said, and they fear it could be drawn into the conflict between the TPLF and Ethiopia’s federal government.

Airports targeted

Late Friday, Tigray fired rockets at two airports in the nearby Amhara region, the Ethiopian and Tigray regional governments said.

In a statement on Tigray TV, the Tigray regional government said attacks would continue “unless the attacks against us stop.”

The federal government confirmed the attacks, saying in a statement, “A rocket was fired towards Bahir Dar & Gondar cities. As a result, the airport areas have sustained damages.”

The Ethiopian army has been battling local forces in the neighboring northern Tigray region for more than a week. Hundreds have been killed since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the national defense force into Tigray November 4, after accusing local forces there of attacking a military base.

More than 14,500 Ethiopians have fled to Sudan, and the U.N. refugee agency says more people are on their way.

U.S. Embassy alerts:

“ The United States strongly condemns the attack carried out by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on the airport in Asmara, Eritrea, on November 14. We are deeply concerned by this blatant attempt by the TPLF to cause regional instability by expanding its conflict with Ethiopian authorities to neighboring countries. We also continue to denounce the TPLF’s November 13 missile attacks on the Bahir Dar and Gondar airports in Ethiopia.” Secretary Pompeo said mid November.

14 Nov The Government of Ethiopia has announced that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) launched missile attacks on the airports of Bahir Dar and Gondar cities during the late evening of November 13.  These attacks indicates that TPLF forces have some intent and capacity to target areas outside of the Tigray Region.

17 Nov Military activity continues in the  Tigray Region and telephone and internet service in the Region remain cut.  We do not know if there will be additional UN-coordinated relocation efforts out of Tigray, though the U.S. Embassy continues to work with the UN to help citizens safely depart the region if conditions permit.  U.S. citizens who cannot depart Tigray safely are advised to shelter in place.