Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed considered rebuilding the Tigray region as the main task of his government in the period after the recent law enforcement campaign in the region, while the Tigrayan Liberation Front confirmed the continuing battles with government forces.
Ahmed said in his blog post on his official Facebook page that this reconstruction phase consists of 3 aspects: the humanitarian and social support that the region needs, rebuilding the infrastructure damaged by the recent military campaign, and restoring basic services.
He pointed out that those he described as local groups have already started implementing these actions, and that the strengthening of humanitarian services will be done by supporting the most vulnerable groups in society.
On the ground, the Tigrayan Liberation Front said that "explosions, looting and skirmishes continued in parts of the region on Saturday, after government forces announced that they were days away from arresting the leaders of the rebellion."
It is estimated that the fighting, which has been going on for about a month, between the federal forces led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, has so far caused thousands of deaths and about 46,000 refugees to neighboring Sudan.
Ahmed's government said that the conflict is nearing an end, a week after the army took control of Mekele, the capital of the region, but Debarsion Jabr Mikael, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray, told Reuters - in a text message on Saturday - that battles are still taking place outside the city.
He added that the federal forces bombed the town of "Abi Adi" on Friday, without providing further details, while a spokesman for the Front accused government forces of carrying out looting operations in Mikkeli.
Abiy Ahmed was previously a political partner of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, which had dominated the Ethiopian ruling coalition for nearly 3 decades, but angered his former allies after he brought Tigray officials to trial in corruption and abuse cases.
The Front said that the arrests and trials were politically motivated, accusing Abiy Ahmed of trying to tighten his grip on power in the country, which consists of 10 federal regions.
But Ahmed denies this and describes the leaders of the front as criminals who revolted against the federal authority.