Ethiopia forces advance on dissident capital

Bloomberg

Ethiopia said its army advanced on the capital of the rebellious Tigray region as the conflict spread beyond the nation’s borders.
The government claimed its forces captured the town of Alamata in southern Tigray over the weekend, building on the seizure of other towns in the west. The region’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front said it’s also being attacked by forces from northern neighbour Eritrea, and fired missiles at that nation’s capital in retaliation.
As the fighting escalates, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration again rebuffed appeals by foreign leaders — the latest coming from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday — for the warring sides to negotiate.
“We appreciate concern from both near and far,” but now is not the time to negotiate, Redwan Hussein, state minister of foreign affairs and spokesman for the government’s Emergency Task Force, told reporters in Ethiopia’s capital of Addis Ababa. “We are saying give us time. It’s not going to take until eternity. It will be a short-lived operation.”
Hundreds of people have died and thousands have been displaced since Ethiopian soldiers began attacking Tigray on November 4 after Abiy blamed the region’s government for an attack on a federal army base.