Background information:

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has announced that it has captured the city of Debre Behran, 75 miles from the capital city of Addis Ababa. A video posted to social media showed TPLF fighters parading captured weapons, including armored vehicles and artillery, through the streets of the city. TPLF has rapidly swept through multiple cities in the last several days, and have been accused of “indiscriminate shelling that was not directed at a specific military objective” by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The EHRC has expressed alarm about the reports of heavy civilian casualties at the hands of the TLFP. A spokesperson for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front has denied the claims and has accused the EHRC of being a biased, government body.

The TPLF has reported that the drone strike conducted by the Ethiopian government in Mekelle in recent days hit a market, killing approximately a dozen people including several children.The Ethiopian government responded with a report that rebel groups have recently stepped up disinformation campaigns, intended to “pull on the heart strings with convincing lies.”

In previous days, Ethiopian Prime Minister delivered a statement where he promised to lead his country’s army from the battlefront in the fight against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, TPLF, which has advanced to within 100 miles of the capital city of Addis Ababa. In response to the statement, a spokesman for the TPLF said, “our forces won’t relent on their inexorable advance.”

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