Ethiopian military announces it's at 'war' with Tigray region's ruling party as government declares emergency - reports

https://www.rt.com/news/505765-ethiopia-military-war-tigray/

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Lawmakers in Addis Ababa have endorsed Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s order to send troops to Tigray, in order to assert federal control over the northern region whose officials have declared him illegitimate.

On Thursday, the lower house of the parliament unanimously approved the six-month state of emergency Abiy declared a day prior, according to Fana Broadcasting Corporate, as quoted by AFP.

Abiy said the military operation was in response to an “attack” by troops loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on a military camp in the region that produced “many martyrs.” The TPLF has denied the accusation.

“No attack was launched by us,” senior TPLF official Wondimu Asamnew told AFP on Tuesday.

Wondimu said that the Northern Command of the Ethiopian military “has voluntarily started to cooperate with Tigray to save the country from an all-out civil war,” a claim Abiy denies, insisting the military has remained loyal to him.

There were “no civilian casualties and only a few skirmishes with a few soldiers who have not respected the decision of their commanders,” Wondimu told AFP.

The newly formed crisis committee in Addis Ababa said on Wednesday the goal of the military operation was to “liberate” Tigray from the TPLF.

Ethiopia’s constitution gives the government “all necessary power to protect the country's peace and sovereignty” under a state of emergency, including suspending some “political and democratic rights.”

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