WORLD AT FIVE

Ethiopia’s call to arms in Tigray conflict: bury the enemy

Corpses rot in the fields and vultures circle as government troops push to end the civil war, writes Fred Harter

A fighter loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front in the town of Hawzen. Rebels had been battling against government forces and allied militias in neighbouring regions as well as Tigray
A fighter loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front in the town of Hawzen. Rebels had been battling against government forces and allied militias in neighbouring regions as well as Tigray
BEN CURTIS/AP
Fred Harter, Chenna Teklehaymanot, Ethiopia
The Times

Ethiopia has deployed thousands of troops to attack rebels in the region of Tigray and started an airstrike offensive in an attempt to bring the country’s 11-month civil war to an end.

Diplomatic and humanitarian sources told The Times that the army had conducted attacks against rebel positions and thousands of soldiers had been spotted moving towards the front line.

A rebel statement also claimed that Ethiopian government forces had hit several areas with airstrikes and launched a ground attack involving “hundreds of thousands of regular and irregular soldiers”.

Soldiers in a show of force near Agula, north of Mekele in the Tigray region. Rebels said the government had deployed “hundreds of thousands of regular and irregular soldiers”
Soldiers in a show of force near Agula, north of Mekele in the Tigray region. Rebels said the government had deployed “hundreds of thousands of regular and irregular soldiers”
BEN CURTIS/AP

Regional governments have urged schoolchildren to rise up against rebel fighters and “bury the enemy”.

Fighting broke out in Tigray, Ethiopia’s northern-most province, in November after months of simmering tensions between the government of Abiy Ahmed,