ESCALATION

Ethiopia Claims Capture of Mekele, Capital of Defiant Tigray Region

Weeks of deadly conflict in Ethiopia took a dramatic turn on Saturday.

Weeks of deadly conflict in Ethiopia took a dramatic turn on Saturday when the military launched an offensive against regional leaders in Mekele, vowing to capture the city “on all fronts. The Associated Press reported there was shelling in the capital of the Tigray region, where communications have been largely cut off, and the United Nations said people were fleeing Mekele. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed later declared that the government’s armed forces were “fully in control” of the city after it was “heavily bombarded.” Abiy has vowed to crush the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which he says is illegal. “Our armed forces after seizing the control of Mekele city will be tasked to hunt down and capture these criminals one by one wherever they may be,” Maj. Hassan Ibrahim said, according to the Ethiopian News Agency. Tens of thousands of Ethiopians have already taken refuge in neighboring Sudan since hostilities erupted. The leader of the rebels said they would “fight these invaders to the last.”