Ethiopia PM Abiy says military will ‘destroy’ Tigray rebels
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said his soldiers would "destroy" rebels from the northern Tigray region, in the latest instalment of state media footage purportedly showing him at the war front.
"You are comprehensively destroying the enemy, there is no going back without winning," Abiy, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, said in the 34-minute clip posted yesterday to his office's Twitter page.
"We will win, the enemy is dispersing, there are areas we have to control," he added.
"Until we destroy the enemy there is no rest."
Abiy announced this week he would start leading operations against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which once dominated national politics but has been locked in a gruesome war with his government for the past year.
The announcement has spurred new recruitment in Addis Ababa.
The country's most famous distance runner, Haile Gebreselassie, told AFP he was determined to "sacrifice and stand for Ethiopia".
The TPLF, he added, "is destabilising our country beyond its region".
On Wednesday state-affiliated media announced Abiy had handed over regular duties to his deputy.
His move came after the TPLF reported major territorial gains, claiming this week to have seized a town just 220 kilometres (135 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa.
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