Abiy has lost it.” All of the residents interviewed said that only a few people were adhering to the government call to muster militias. We are just learning from distant relatives who fled here about the reality. I could not believe the fall of the cities and the rapid advance of the rebels to Addis Ababa,” said another ethnic Amhara resident, referring to the cities of Dessie and Kombolcha on the A2 highway, which reportedly fell to rebels over the weekend. “I could not still believe this has happened. Yesterday they rounded up and detained Tigrayans in the districts of Hayahulet, Semet and Bulbula,” claimed one ethnic Tigrayan who lives in the city, who has not been named for security reasons. “Police officers are going from house to house unlawfully detaining ethnic Tigrayans in districts where many ethnic Tigrayans live. Half a dozen residents of Addis Ababa said there was a growing sense of panic in the city. The US Embassy in Addis Ababa said it “strongly” suggested that US citizens “seriously reconsider” travel to Ethiopia and told those in the country to consider making preparations to leave. “Let me be clear: We oppose any TPLF move to Addis or any TPLF move to besiege Addis,” Jeffrey Feltman, the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, said. But on Tuesday, the government declared a national state of emergency, indicating the situation was more severe than they were admitting and that the rebels now posed a real threat to the capital. A tsunami of fake news, reporting restrictions and frequent communication blackouts make it difficult to confirm events on the ground.

Mr Abiy’s government has denied claims that the TPLF have made significant territorial gains. “All residents must be organised by blocks and neighbourhoods to protect peace and security in their home area in coordination with security forces,” said Kenea Yadeta, chief of the city's Peace and Security Administration Bureau.Ībiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning President, last year sent the federal army into Tigray in a bid to crush the powerful regional government, which has ruled the whole of the country for much of the past three decades.īut the TPLF, Tigray’s military force, has staged a stunning counter-offensive after initially being beaten back into the mountains. On Tuesday officials ordered the 5m residents to procure any weapon they could and be ready to defend their neighbourhoods. The Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have reportedly seized two key cities on a major highway to Addis Ababa, sparking panic in the cosmopolitan city which has so far been spared in the brutal year-long war.

The US has warned Tigrayan soldiers against advancing on Ethiopia’s capital as residents were told to arm themselves in preparation for battle.

Half life 2 rebels