https://www.bbc.com/news/world/africa
Tigray administration calls for immediate ceasefire
Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa
Tsigabu Gebretinsae, 45, holds her emotion as her daugher, a resident of Togoga, a village about 20km west of Mekele, received treatment for her lost arm
AFPCopyright: AFP
Many civilians have been killed in the conflict - and an attack on a marketplace last week saw numerous casualtiesImage caption: Many civilians have been killed in the conflict - and an attack on a marketplace last week saw numerous casualties
The interim administration in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, appointed by the federal government, has called for an immediate ceasefire in a clear shift of tone by the government since war broke out last November.
Addis Ababa has been consistent in rejecting international calls for humanitarian cease fire.
Meanwhile sources in the region’s capital, Mekelle, say that Tigrayan fighters have been seen in the city for the first time since November last year.
There has been heavy fighting for the past few days in Tigray.
The region's former ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which was ousted by the federal government, has claimed military gains.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57645282
The Ethiopian government has declared a ceasefire in the Tigray region - eight months after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to oust its leadership.
The announcement came as witnesses reported that anti-government troops had captured Tigray's capital, Mekelle.
All sides have been accused of carrying out mass killings and human rights violations.
More more than five million people are in urgent need of food aid, the UN says, with 350,000 facing famine.
On Monday, reports began to emerge that the Tigrayan fighters - who launched a new offensive last week - had forced the interim administration from Mekelle.
People in the city have told the BBC they are celebrating their departure. An unnamed source within the interim government told news agency AFP "everyone has left", while two eyewitnesses told Reuters Tigrayan soldiers were seen in Mekelle.
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Fighting began in November, when Ethiopia's government, aided by troops from neighbouring Eritrea, launched an offensive to oust the region's then ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). By the end of the month, it declared victory.
The TPLF had had a massive fallout with Mr Abiy over his political reforms though its capture of federal military bases in Tigray was the catalyst for the invasion.
The TPLF has since joined forces with other groups in Tigray to form the Tigray Defence Forces.
The army had previously dismissed claims of rebel successes but is yet say anything on the Tigrayan forces’ reported entry into Mekelle.
The conflict has created a humanitarian crisis. A UN-backed estimate said that 350,000 people were living in famine conditions and more than five million needed humanitarian assistance of some description.