On December 5th, in Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s forces said that the fighting is close to over after a week passed since the government troops captured Tigray region’s capital Mekelle.
They wrestled control from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The fighting has now lasted for over a month, having started on November 4th, and it is estimated that it killed thousands of people and driven some 46,000 refugees into neighboring Sudan.
The central government is claiming that the fighting is near over, while TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael told Reuters that fighting outside the city was still on-going.
He said federal forces bombed the town of Abbi Adi on December 4th, without giving further details, while a TPLF spokesman accused government troops of looting in Mekelle.
“(They are) looting civilian properties, hotels and damaging factories after looting,” the spokesman Getachew Reda told a TPLF-owned TV station.
Most communications in Tigray are down and access to the area is severely restricted, making it hard to verify either side’s statements.
The Central government has also not given any form of comment.
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INTERNAL ETHIOPIAN WAR DRAWS TO A CLOSE, BUT HAS IT DAMAGED NEIGHBORING SUDAN TOO MUCH
