Addis Ababa said that government forces have taken control of three cities in Tigray, and are preparing to provide humanitarian assistance and restore services and communications in these cities.
The Ethiopian government announced on Tuesday that it had taken control of three cities in Tigray, confirming in particular the capture of the main city of Shire, and indicated that it was preparing to provide humanitarian assistance and restore services and communications in these cities.
In a statement, the government said, "The Ethiopian federal army has taken control of the cities of Shire, Almata and Corim without civil battles."
The leadership of the rebel forces in this region in northern Ethiopia had previously announced that the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces had taken control of Shire.
The command said: "These invading forces have so far taken control of certain areas, including the Shire region," calling on "all qualified Tigrayans to defend the area relentlessly."
She added that the joint forces entered the city, which has a population of about 100,000 people, on Monday, noting that "the enemies are killing our people with heavy weapons in the areas they invade."
The Shire region was the scene of an attack by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, while heavy fighting broke out in Tigray, alarming the international community.
News from the battlefield cannot be verified because journalists are unable to reach northern Ethiopia, where communications networks are weak or non-existent.
On the other hand, the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Austrian Volker Türk, stressed that there is a “high risk of an escalation of the conflict in Ethiopia”, saying: “I am deeply disturbed by the risk of a significant escalation given the massive and continuing mobilization of soldiers and fighters from various parties to the conflict.”
“What we have been able to document since August 31, is at least 31 civilians killed, including children, and 73 wounded in 14 separate air strikes by the Ethiopian Air Force in the Tigray region,” Ravina Shamsdani, a spokeswoman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva. , especially in Mikkeli, Shire and other parts of Tigray.
"But certainly, it is very possible that the real number is much higher," she added.
Volker Türk reminded that "under international law, indiscriminate attacks or attacks that intentionally target civilians or civilian objects constitute war crimes."
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the situation in Ethiopia was "getting out of control" as fighting intensified.
The rebel announcement came a day after the Ethiopian government pledged to seize airports and other sites in Tigray.
On Sunday, the African Union called on the warring parties in the Ethiopian conflict for an immediate ceasefire in Tigray, where violence is on the rise.
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