Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in a statement on Thursday, hours after an ultimatum for Tigray forces to surrender expired said the Ethiopian military will begin the final phase of an offensive in the rebellious northern Tigray region.
He tweeted that the 72-hour period granted to the criminal TPLF clique to surrender peacefully is now over and our law enforcement campaign has reached its final stage, adding that civilians would be spared and that thousands of fighters had already surrendered.