Abi Ahmed leads the Ethiopian army himself as the battles approach Addis Ababa
The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abi Ahmed, announced yesterday, Monday, that he will go to the front, today, Tuesday, to lead his soldiers who are fighting the rebels, at a time when the battles are getting closer and closer to the capital, Addis Ababa.
"As of tomorrow, I will go to the front to lead our armed forces," Abyei said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.
Addressing, he added, "Those who want to be Ethiopians for whom history will open its arms, defended the country today. They met us at the front."
The war, which erupted on November 4, 2020 in the Tigray region (North) between the Federal Forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front backed by the Oromo Liberation Army, resulted in the killing of thousands and the displacement of more than two million people.
The Prime Minister's statement came at a time when the Tigray People's Liberation Front confirmed its continued advance towards the capital, Addis Ababa, noting that it had taken control of the town of Shewa Rubet, located about 220 km from the capital.
Agence France-Presse clarified the Ethiopian authorities the truth of what the rebels announced, but it did not receive a response.
The prime minister issued his statement following a meeting on the current military situation held by the executive committee of the ruling "Prosperity" party.
At the conclusion of the party meeting, Defense Minister Abraham Pillay announced that the security forces would engage in "different work", without further details.
"We cannot continue like this, which means that there will be change," the minister said.
"What happened and what is happening to our people of atrocities committed by this destructive terrorist and bandit group cannot continue," he added.
On November 2, the federal government declared a state of emergency for six months throughout the country and called on the residents of Addis Ababa to organize their ranks and prepare to defend their city in light of the growing fears of the advance of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front fighters and their allies towards the capital.
However, the authorities assert at the same time that the rebels' declarations of military progress and an imminent threat to Addis Ababa are exaggerated.
Addis Ababa sent its forces to Tigray to overthrow the authorities of the region emanating from the Tigray People's Liberation Front after the Prime Minister accused the region's forces of attacking the centers of the federal army.
In the wake of fierce battles, Abyei declared victory on November 28, but the fighters of the front soon regained, in June, control of the greater part of Tigray before advancing towards the neighboring regions of Afar and Amhara.
The US envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, and his African counterpart, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, are making unremitting efforts in an attempt to reach a ceasefire.
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