Surrendering window closed as Ethiopian forces move in for ‘final’ stage war in Mekelle

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Nov, 26 – Ethiopian Prime minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday said the 72 hour surrender ultimatum granted to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) “ is now over and our law enforcement campaign has reached its final stage.”

Abby, in a statement said that the final phase of what he termed as “the rule of law operations” has commenced, with the national defence forces of Ethiopia moving in the embattled Tigrayan capital Mekelle.

“When the federal government issued the 72 hour surrender time, it had two objectives, on one hand, it was to demonstrate that the intention of our operations is to enforce the rule of lawyer the laws of the land. If the TPLF clique chose to peacefully surrender the campaign would have been finalised with the least amount of damage,” the Prime Minister said.

As a result the Ethiopian Prime Minister, a recent Nobel peace prize winner, said that the gate which had remained opened for the TPLF to walk through has now been “firmly closed.”

“Despite this, thousands of members of the Tigray militia and special forces have come to realise the destructive nature of the Tigray militia and special forces and have utilised the gates of peace and surrendered peacefully,” he said.

Since the conflict started, hundreds of people have reportedly lost their lives in the fierce battle between the Ethiopian National defence forces and the TPLF army that has seen widespread destruction from aerial bombardment  and ground fighting since the beginning of November.

The international community has pleaded for a de-escalation from both sides while calling for dialogue.

Abiy who has since rejected any international intervention said that AU envoys who reached out to Ethiopia can hold meetings with him but warned against directly engaging with Tigrayan leaders.

The United Nation has expressed concerns of a humanitarian crisis, saying “things have become very critical in the region, as 6 million people in the region do not have access to water and food.”

Already thousands have fled the region to Sudan.

Phone and internet connections to the region remain down while access to the area is tightly controlled by the federal government.