Amid the ongoing Tigray conflict and 13-month war, the Ethiopian government makes territorial gains as it claims back Tigrayan city from rebels.

The Tigray conflict: Reports claims that Alamata is back in the Ethiopian government's hands

Amid the ongoing Tigray conflict and 13-month war, the Ethiopian government claims it has captured back Tigrayan city from rebels.

The Tigray conflict: Ethiopian government claims capture of Tigrayan city from rebels

The fighting in the Ethiopia Tigray conflict has reached the country's capital Addis-Ababa. The US envoy has said that any progress towards the diplomatic settlement was at risk of being overshadowed by the alarming developments on the ground.

Ethiopia: Ethiopian Prime Minister vows to go to frontline to lead battle

With thousands of Ethiopian Federal Government prisoners of war were paraded by their captors. Other prisoners who are closely guarded by the Tigrayan forces can be heard chanting slogans such as we are Abi soldiers and stop ethnic abuse.

Ethiopian government encourages woman to help in war effort

Ethiopia: Tigray rebels capture town just 200km from capital

The civil war in Ethiopia has turned into a battle of ethnicities. On target are ethnic Tigrayans and some of them have declared war on the govt. They are marching towards the capital to seize control.

Ethiopia: Ethiopian police detains ethnic Tigrayans on suspicion

The young coffee seller said she was split from family and friends by an Ethiopian soldier at the Tekeze river, taken down a path, and given a harrowing choice.

"He said: `Choose, either I kill you or rape you`," the 25-year-old told Reuters at the Hamdayet refugee camp in Sudan where she had fled from conflict in Ethiopia`s Tigray region.

The doctor who treated her when she arrived at the camp in December, Tewadrous Tefera Limeuh, confirmed to Reuters that he provided pills to stop pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases, and guided her to a psychotherapist.

"The soldier ... forced a gun on her and raped her," Limeuh, who was volunteering with the Sudanese Red Crescent, said the woman told him. "She asked him if he had a condom and he said `why would I need a condom?`"

Five aid workers for international and Ethiopian aid groups said they had received multiple similar reports of abuse in Tigray. The United Nations appealed this week for an end to sexual assaults in the region.

Among a "high number" of allegations, particularly disturbing reports have emerged of people being forced to rape relatives or have sex in exchange for basic supplies, the U.N. Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict said in a statement on Thursday.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed`s government and the military did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters about the reports of rape. Ethiopian authorities have previously denied rights abuses, pointing the finger instead at the Tigray People`s Liberation Front (TPLF), the region`s former ruling party whose forces they accuse of insurrection.

"I call on all parties involved in the hostilities in the Tigray region to commit to a zero-tolerance policy for crimes of sexual violence," U.N. special representative Pramila Patten said in the statement.

Women and girls in refugee camps within Ethiopia appear to have been particularly targeted, and medical centres are under pressure for emergency contraception and tests for sexually-transmitted infections, the statement said.

Reuters could not independently verify the accounts of rape. Media have been largely banned from Tigray, aid agencies have struggled for access, and communications were down for weeks.

ABUSERS IN UNIFORM

The 25-year-old woman who spoke with Reuters said her abuser wore an Ethiopian federal army uniform.

The five aid workers said other women described their alleged assailants as being militia fighters from Ethiopia`s Amhara region or Eritrean soldiers, both allied with Abiy`s troops. Reuters was unable to determine the identity of the woman`s assailant.

Abiy`s spokeswoman, Tigray`s interim governor, the mayor of the regional capital Mekelle, Eritrea`s foreign minister and Ethiopia`s army spokesman did not immediately reply to requests for comment on rape allegations. Reuters could not reach TPLF representatives.

"I don`t have any information about that," Amhara regional spokesman Gizachew Muluneh told Reuters by phone.

Ethiopia and Eritrea have both denied that Eritrean troops are in Ethiopia, contradicting dozens of eyewitness interviews, diplomats and an Ethiopian general.

`WHY IS A WOMAN RAPED?`

At a meeting of security officials in Mekelle broadcast on Ethiopian state TV earlier this month, one soldier spoke of abuses even after the city had been captured by federal forces.

"I was angry yesterday. Why does a woman get raped in Mekelle city? It wouldn`t be shocking if it happened during the war ... But women were raped yesterday and today when the local police and federal police are around," said the soldier, who was not identified.

Local authorities did not immediately respond to efforts to seek comment on whether any soldiers might be investigated or brought to justice.

Tewadrous, the refugee camp doctor, described two other rape cases he had handled. One woman, who said she had escaped from Rawyan town in Tigray, told of three soldiers she identified as Amhara special forces knocking at her door, the doctor said. When she refused them entry, they broke in and assaulted her.

An aid worker in the town of Wukro told Reuters victims had recounted how a husband was forced to kneel and watch while his wife was raped by soldiers they identified as Eritrean.

A medical worker in Adigrat said he treated six women who had been raped by a group of soldiers and told not to seek help afterwards. They found courage to come forward days later, but there were no medicines to treat them, the medic said.

In Mekelle, one man was beaten up after begging soldiers to stop raping a 19-year-old, according to a medical worker who treated both victims. Mekelle charity Elshadai said it has prepared 50 beds for rape victims.

The young coffee seller said she was split from family and friends by an Ethiopian soldier at the Tekeze river, taken down a path, and given a harrowing choice. "He said: `Choose, either I kill you or rape you`," the 25-year-old told Reuters at the Hamdayet refugee camp in Sudan where she had fled from conflict in Ethiopia`s Tigray region.

The young coffee seller said she was split from family and friends by an Ethiopian soldier at the Tekeze river, taken down a path, and given a harrowing choice. "He said: `Choose, either I kill you or rape you`," the 25-year-old told Reuters at the Hamdayet refugee camp in Sudan where she had fled from conflict in Ethiopia`s Tigray region. The doctor who treated her when she arrived at the camp in December, Tewadrous Tefera Limeuh, confirmed to Reuters that he provided pills to stop pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases, and guided her to a psychotherapist. "The soldier ... forced a gun on her and raped her," Limeuh, who was volunteering with the Sudanese Red Crescent, said the woman told him. "She asked him if he had a condom and he said `why would I need a condom?`" Five aid workers for international and Ethiopian aid groups said they had received multiple similar reports of abuse in Tigray. The United Nations appealed this week for an end to sexual assaults in the region. Among a "high number" of allegations, particularly disturbing reports have emerged of people being forced to rape relatives or have sex in exchange for basic supplies, the U.N. Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict said in a statement on Thursday. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed`s government and the military did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters about the reports of rape. Ethiopian authorities have previously denied rights abuses, pointing the finger instead at the Tigray People`s Liberation Front (TPLF), the region`s former ruling party whose forces they accuse of insurrection. "I call on all parties involved in the hostilities in the Tigray region to commit to a zero-tolerance policy for crimes of sexual violence," U.N. special representative Pramila Patten said in the statement. Women and girls in refugee camps within Ethiopia appear to have been particularly targeted, and medical centres are under pressure for emergency contraception and tests for sexually-transmitted infections, the statement said. Reuters could not independently verify the accounts of rape. Media have been largely banned from Tigray, aid agencies have struggled for access, and communications were down for weeks. ABUSERS IN UNIFORM The 25-year-old woman who spoke with Reuters said her abuser wore an Ethiopian federal army uniform. The five aid workers said other women described their alleged assailants as being militia fighters from Ethiopia`s Amhara region or Eritrean soldiers, both allied with Abiy`s troops. Reuters was unable to determine the identity of the woman`s assailant. Abiy`s spokeswoman, Tigray`s interim governor, the mayor of the regional capital Mekelle, Eritrea`s foreign minister and Ethiopia`s army spokesman did not immediately reply to requests for comment on rape allegations. Reuters could not reach TPLF representatives. "I don`t have any information about that," Amhara regional spokesman Gizachew Muluneh told Reuters by phone. Ethiopia and Eritrea have both denied that Eritrean troops are in Ethiopia, contradicting dozens of eyewitness interviews, diplomats and an Ethiopian general. `WHY IS A WOMAN RAPED?` At a meeting of security officials in Mekelle broadcast on Ethiopian state TV earlier this month, one soldier spoke of abuses even after the city had been captured by federal forces. "I was angry yesterday. Why does a woman get raped in Mekelle city? It wouldn`t be shocking if it happened during the war ... But women were raped yesterday and today when the local police and federal police are around," said the soldier, who was not identified. Local authorities did not immediately respond to efforts to seek comment on whether any soldiers might be investigated or brought to justice. Tewadrous, the refugee camp doctor, described two other rape cases he had handled. One woman, who said she had escaped from Rawyan town in Tigray, told of three soldiers she identified as Amhara special forces knocking at her door, the doctor said. When she refused them entry, they broke in and assaulted her. An aid worker in the town of Wukro told Reuters victims had recounted how a husband was forced to kneel and watch while his wife was raped by soldiers they identified as Eritrean. A medical worker in Adigrat said he treated six women who had been raped by a group of soldiers and told not to seek help afterwards. They found courage to come forward days later, but there were no medicines to treat them, the medic said. In Mekelle, one man was beaten up after begging soldiers to stop raping a 19-year-old, according to a medical worker who treated both victims. Mekelle charity Elshadai said it has prepared 50 beds for rape victims.

'Choose - I kill you or rape you': Abuse accusations surge in Ethiopia's war

The Ethiopian government launched a manhunt on Sunday for leaders of a rebellious faction in the northern region of Tigray after announcing federal troops had taken over the regional capital and military operations were complete. 
 
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed government has been trying to quell a rebellion by the Tigray People`s Liberation Front (TPLF), a powerful ethnically-based party that dominated the central government from 1991 until Abiy came to power in 2018. 
 
He said on Saturday evening federal troops had taken control of the Tigrayan capital Mekelle within hours of launching an offensive there, laying to rest fears of protracted fighting in the city of 500,000 people. 
 
The prime minister, who refers to the three-week-old conflict as an internal law and order matter and has rebuffed international offers of mediation, said federal police will try to arrest TPLF "criminals" and bring them to court. 
 
However, TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael told Reuters in a text message on Saturday evening that TPLF forces would fight on, raising the prospect that the conflict could drag on. 
 
Thousands of people are believed to have been killed and nearly 44,000 have fled to Sudan since the fighting began on Nov. 4. The conflict has been another test for Abiy, who took office two years ago and is trying to hold together a patchwork of ethnic groups that make up Ethiopia`s 115 million people. 
 
The flow of refugees and attacks by the TPLF on neighbouring Eritrea have also threatened to destabilize the wider Horn of Africa region. 
 
Claims from all sides are difficult to verify since phone and internet links to Tigray have been down and access tightly controlled since the fighting began. 
 
The police late on Saturday issued arrest warrants for 17 more military officers charged with crimes in connection with the conflict that include treason and embezzlement of public properties, state-affiliated Fana TV reported. They add to the 117 warrants issued for senior military officers it says are connected to TPLF since the conflict broke out. 
 
It was not clear if any TPLF leaders had surrendered, their whereabouts or their next plans. 
 
"Their brutality can only add (to) our resolve to fight these invaders to the last," the TPLF`s Debretsion told Reuters in a text message on Saturday. 
 
Asked by Reuters if that meant his forces would continue fighting, he replied: “Certainly. This is about defending our right to self determination.” 
 
Debretsion said in another text message that Tigrayan forces were withdrawing from around Mekelle. 
 
HISTORY OF RESISTANCE 
 
Regional diplomats and experts have warned that a rapid military victory might not signal the end of the conflict. 
 
The TPLF has a history of guerrilla resistance. Tigray`s mountainous terrain and borders with Sudan and Eritrea helped the TPLF during its long struggle against Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam, whom it eventually toppled in 1991. 
 
The TPLF and Eritrean forces fought together against Mengistu, but relations later soured after Eritrea became independent in 1993. The two nations fought over a border dispute in 1998-2000 and the TPLF sees Eritrea as a mortal enemy. 
 
Eritrea signed a peace deal with Abiy in 2018, and the prime minister won the Nobel Peace Prize last year. 
 
EXPLOSIONS IN ERITREA`S CAPITAL 
 
Six explosions were reported in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, on Saturday night, the U.S. State Department said, although it was not immediately clear if they were related to the Tigray conflict. The State Department post did not mention the cause or location of the explosions. 
 
Tigrayan forces fired rockets at Eritrea on Nov. 14. 
 
Reuters was unable to reach the Eritrean government or Tigrayan forces for comment. 
 
The TPLF, which denounces Abiy`s warm relations with Eritrea, has accused Eritrea of sending troops to Tigray to join the Ethiopian government`s fight. 
 
It has not been possible to contact the Eritrean government for comment on this. 
 
The TPLF also accuses Abiy of wanting to centralise control at the expense of Ethiopia`s 10 regions. The constitution grants the regions wide-ranging powers over matters like taxation and security. 
 
Abiy has denied he wants to centralise power. 
 
This year, Abiy postponed elections scheduled for August to next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Calling this a power grab, the TPLF held its own regional elections in September and announced it no longer recognised federal authority. Abiy`s government declared the Tigray election illegal.

The Ethiopian government launched a manhunt on Sunday for leaders of a rebellious faction in the northern region of Tigray after announcing federal troops had taken over the regional capital and military operations were complete.

The Ethiopian government launched a manhunt on Sunday for leaders of a rebellious faction in the northern region of Tigray after announcing federal troops had taken over the regional capital and military operations were complete. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed government has been trying to quell a rebellion by the Tigray People`s Liberation Front (TPLF), a powerful ethnically-based party that dominated the central government from 1991 until Abiy came to power in 2018. He said on Saturday evening federal troops had taken control of the Tigrayan capital Mekelle within hours of launching an offensive there, laying to rest fears of protracted fighting in the city of 500,000 people. The prime minister, who refers to the three-week-old conflict as an internal law and order matter and has rebuffed international offers of mediation, said federal police will try to arrest TPLF "criminals" and bring them to court. However, TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael told Reuters in a text message on Saturday evening that TPLF forces would fight on, raising the prospect that the conflict could drag on. Thousands of people are believed to have been killed and nearly 44,000 have fled to Sudan since the fighting began on Nov. 4. The conflict has been another test for Abiy, who took office two years ago and is trying to hold together a patchwork of ethnic groups that make up Ethiopia`s 115 million people. The flow of refugees and attacks by the TPLF on neighbouring Eritrea have also threatened to destabilize the wider Horn of Africa region. Claims from all sides are difficult to verify since phone and internet links to Tigray have been down and access tightly controlled since the fighting began. The police late on Saturday issued arrest warrants for 17 more military officers charged with crimes in connection with the conflict that include treason and embezzlement of public properties, state-affiliated Fana TV reported. They add to the 117 warrants issued for senior military officers it says are connected to TPLF since the conflict broke out. It was not clear if any TPLF leaders had surrendered, their whereabouts or their next plans. "Their brutality can only add (to) our resolve to fight these invaders to the last," the TPLF`s Debretsion told Reuters in a text message on Saturday. Asked by Reuters if that meant his forces would continue fighting, he replied: “Certainly. This is about defending our right to self determination.” Debretsion said in another text message that Tigrayan forces were withdrawing from around Mekelle. HISTORY OF RESISTANCE Regional diplomats and experts have warned that a rapid military victory might not signal the end of the conflict. The TPLF has a history of guerrilla resistance. Tigray`s mountainous terrain and borders with Sudan and Eritrea helped the TPLF during its long struggle against Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam, whom it eventually toppled in 1991. The TPLF and Eritrean forces fought together against Mengistu, but relations later soured after Eritrea became independent in 1993. The two nations fought over a border dispute in 1998-2000 and the TPLF sees Eritrea as a mortal enemy. Eritrea signed a peace deal with Abiy in 2018, and the prime minister won the Nobel Peace Prize last year. EXPLOSIONS IN ERITREA`S CAPITAL Six explosions were reported in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, on Saturday night, the U.S. State Department said, although it was not immediately clear if they were related to the Tigray conflict. The State Department post did not mention the cause or location of the explosions. Tigrayan forces fired rockets at Eritrea on Nov. 14. Reuters was unable to reach the Eritrean government or Tigrayan forces for comment. The TPLF, which denounces Abiy`s warm relations with Eritrea, has accused Eritrea of sending troops to Tigray to join the Ethiopian government`s fight. It has not been possible to contact the Eritrean government for comment on this. The TPLF also accuses Abiy of wanting to centralise control at the expense of Ethiopia`s 10 regions. The constitution grants the regions wide-ranging powers over matters like taxation and security. Abiy has denied he wants to centralise power. This year, Abiy postponed elections scheduled for August to next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Calling this a power grab, the TPLF held its own regional elections in September and announced it no longer recognised federal authority. Abiy`s government declared the Tigray election illegal.

Ethiopia says military operation in Tigray region is over, hunt for regional leaders begins

Ethiopia’s state-appointed rights watchdog accused Tigrayans of killing hundreds of civilians as federal and local forces both claimed advances in a three-week war in the country’s mountainous north.

Tigrayans accused of massacre, both sides claim gains in Ethiopia war

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