![]() Rebel forces are nowhere near the capital and claims otherwise are "propaganda," Addis Ababa police commander Fasika Fenta told CNN on Thursday, as fighters allied against the central government push south. ![]() OLA has about 2,000 fighters from a mobile commando unit in the rural areas in the vicinity of the town and an additional 400 fighters from the Oromo Special Forces that defected and joined OLA on Wednesday, Odaa said. The town of Laga Tafo, approximately 25km (15 miles) from the capital, is "not in our control," Odaa clarified to CNN. In recent weeks, the OLA and TPLF claimed to have had seized Dessie and Kombolcha, two key towns on the road to Addis Ababa. Oda said that the closest area the joint forces held was the town Gerba Guracha, 160km north of the capital and that it was a misconception that the group's operations in towns near the capital meant it was in control of those areas. The question of entering the capital city is "purely based on what happens if it comes to negotiations," with the federal government, Odaa said, adding that the group hopes to avoid a direct military conflict in the densely populated city. Instead, the OLA said it is calling for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to be removed, a transitional conference established and, ultimately, to hold what Odaa described as a "truly democratic election" inclusive of all voices and stakeholders. The OLA, along with other allied groups, have said that moving on Addis Ababa is not their main objective. "We've not seen any signs of slowing down when it comes to our advances or the advances of our allies," Odaa Tarbii said. The attorney general said the state of emergency was declared "out of an abundance of caution" based on intelligence that TPLF might try to create havoc in the capital or in other cities. Timothewos said in a videoconference with reporters Friday that the members of the anti-government alliance, including the fighters loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that once dominated Ethiopia, are "deeply unpopular among the overwhelming majority of Ethiopians." The state of emergency - which allows for the conscription of citizens who own firearms and are at least 18, the age for military service - comes after forces arrayed against the government made advances toward the capital, Addis Ababa. On Thursday, Ethiopia's House of People's Representatives approved a six-month state of emergency announced earlier by Attorney General Gedion Timothewos. Top Ethiopian government officials on Friday pushed back against claims of territorial advances by forces allied against the central government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, saying the alliance has no popular support, one day after the formal introduction of a state of emergency. The group also said it was "documenting an increasing number of allegations of war crimes by the TPLF," the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which is fighting the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.Īmnesty added that the Oromo Liberation Army, a rebel group from Oromia, Ethiopia's most populous region, "has repeatedly been implicated in serious human rights abuses, mainly attacks targeting ethnic Amhara minorities in Western Oromia." Since the conflict in the country's northern Tigray region began a year ago, Amnesty has raised allegations of war crimes by Ethiopian government troops and allied forces. "To stop the situation spiraling out of control, the Ethiopian authorities must urgently take serious action to ensure human rights and international humanitarian law are respected." The dire humanitarian and human rights crisis which began one year ago in Tigray has been spilling into other areas of the country," said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty's regional director for East and Southern Africa.
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