Ethiopia PM claims war gains, urges TPLF rebels to ‘surrender’

Fierce fighting is under way for a key highway in Afar region

In this image made from undated subtitled video released by the prime minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed is seen dressed in military uniform speaking to a television camera at an unidentified location in Ethiopia. A state-affiliated broadcaster and the prime minister's Twitter account on Friday, Nov. 26, 2021 showed video of Abiy purportedly on the battlefront of the country's yearlong war against Tigray forces, four days after he announced he would direct the army from there.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday urged Tigrayan rebels to surrender, claiming government forces were nearing victory just one week after he vowed to lead military operations at the front.

“It [rebels] should surrender today to the Ethiopian National Defence Force, to the special forces, to the militias and to the people,” Mr. Abiy said.

The northeastern region of Afar has been the site of fierce fighting in recent weeks as the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group tries to seize control of a critical highway that supplies the capital Addis Ababa.

On Sunday, state media claimed the Army controlled the lowland Afar town of Chifra, and Mr. Abiy said on Tuesday such gains would be replicated to the west, in Amhara region.

“We scored an unthinkable victory with the eastern command in one day... Now in the west we will repeat this victory,” he said.

A TPLF spokesman on Monday dismissed Mr. Abiy’s deployment as a “circus”.