Ethiopians gather to show their support to federal government forces fighting against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) at Abebe Bikila Stadium in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on November 17, 2020.
Ethiopia's military has gained full control of the capital of the defiant Tigray region, the army announced Saturday after Tigray TV reported that the city of a half-million people was being "heavily bombarded" in the final push to arrest the region's leaders.
"The United States is gravely concerned about the worsening situation in the Tigray region," the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Kelly Craft, tweeted after the reported bombardment began.
As Ethiopian forces moved in, Maj. Gen. Hassan Ibrahim vowed to capture the city "on all fronts."
The Tigray region has been almost entirely cut off from the outside world since Nov. 4, when Abiy announced a military offensive in response to a TPLF attack on a military base.
Persons:
Birhanu Jula, Abiy Ahmed, Humanitarians, TPLF, Kelly Craft, Pope Francis, Abiy, Hassan Ibrahim, Antonio Guterres, Filippo Grandi, Grandi, Abiy's
Organizations:
Tigray TV, United Nations, Ethiopian, African, Ethiopian News Agency, International Committee, Cross, Umm, Associated Press, AP
Locations:
Tigray, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Mekele, United States, U.S, Maj, of Africa, Sudan, Umm Rakouba