MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2020) The Ethiopian military has taken control of the strategic towns of Aksum and Adwa in the northern Tigray region amid fierce clashes between government troops and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a government fact checking service said on Friday.
"Today, 20 November 2020, our Defense Forces took full control of Axum, Adwa and the surrounding areas of Adigrat," the Ethiopia State of Emergency Fact Check service said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Government forces are currently advancing on the town of Adigrat, located just over 70 miles from the city of Mek'ele, the regional capital of Tigray, the service said.
Many of the TPLF fighters have surrendered to the Ethiopian military, the service added.
The clashes broke out earlier in November after the government accused the TPLF of conducting an attack on a military base in the region. Roughly 40,000 Ethiopian citizens have fled to Sudan following the start of the conflict, and the international community has called for both sides to observe a ceasefire.
The Tigray region held parliamentary elections on September 9, despite the postponement of Ethiopia's general election by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the regional election, the TPLF won more than 98 percent of the vote.
