Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that intermittent battles are taking place between government forces and the Tigray Liberation Front fighters in the Afar region, northeastern Ethiopia, and the adjacent Amhara.

While the army chief said that external forces want to destroy her country, the commander of the Tigray forces confirmed that what is being said about isolating his fighters is just war propaganda.

The reporter said that intermittent battles are taking place around the cities of "Bati" and "Waldia", in the Amhara region near the border with the Afar region, in an attempt by the Ethiopian army and the Afar special forces to encircle the two towns controlled by the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

The government forces are seeking, through the control of "Bati and Waldia", to advance towards the cities of "Kombolcha" and "Disi", in the province of "Wulu" in Amhara.

The commander of military operations in the army, Pasha Debli, said in statements to the Ethiopian television, that his country is facing an unprecedented war, led by a group belonging to Ethiopia and implementing the agendas of foreign powers to destroy the country, as he put it.

In his first appearance since the start of battles with government forces, the commander of the Tigray Liberation Front, General Tadesse Wardi, said that his forces had redeployed as part of a new plan for military operations, adding that what was said about the isolation of the Tigray Front was just war propaganda.

The leader of the Tigray Liberation Front in Ethiopia, General Tadesse Wardi, said that his forces have redeployed as part of a new plan for military operations (Al-Jazeera)

American warnings

For its part, the US State Department said that the seriousness of the situation in Ethiopia may escalate further, which will lead to a shortage in the supply chain, communication interruption, and travel disruption.

The US State Department urged US nationals in Ethiopia to leave now, using available commercial flights, and without delay.

She said it was unlikely that the US embassy would be able to help Americans leave Ethiopia if commercial options became unavailable.

She noted that the US missions in Addis Ababa are still open, under the leadership of the US ambassadors to Ethiopia and the African Union.


Ethiopian condemnation

On the other hand, Demke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, said that interference in the internal affairs of sovereign countries due to human rights and humanitarian aid is unacceptable.

This came when he attended with a high-level government delegation the Eighth African Peace and Security Summit in Oran, Algeria.

Demaki said that the United Nations is moving forward in multilateral relations and that some superpowers should not be allowed to influence Africa on the basis of their unilateral principles.

He added that the interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states must be condemned under the pretext of human rights and humanitarian support.

He said that although the role of the member states of the African Union Peace and Security Council in the Security Council is constructive, they must stand together in a united voice and work together to resist the pressures of the great powers and protect the just interests of African countries.