MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2020) Ethiopian Armed Forces on Saturday took control of the city of Adigrat in the turbulent northern region of Tigray, the country's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said.
"Our forces have now fully liberated Adigrat town from TPLF [Tigray People's Liberation Front] militia as of today, following the control of the surrounding areas last night," a statement shared by Ahmed read.
This puts the government's forces within 50 miles of the regional capital Mekele which has around half a million residents.
The fighting between Addis Ababa and the TPLF broke out earlier in November after the government accused the Front of conducting an attack on a military base in the region. Roughly 40,000 Ethiopian citizens have fled to Sudan following the beginning of the conflict.
The Tigray region held parliamentary elections on September 9 without a go-ahead from the central government, which had postponed the election due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The TPLF, which had dominated Ethiopian politics for two decades before being ousted from power by Abiy's government, claimed more than 98 percent of the vote.
