\n With Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reporting that Eritrean plans to pull troops out of Ethiopia's conflict-hit Tigray region, here is a timeline of the ongoing crisis in Africa's second most populous country.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Troops enter -\n<\/p>\n
\n The fighting begins on November 4 last year, with Abiy ordering a military response to what he calls a \"traitorous\" attack on federal army camps in Tigray.\n<\/p>\n
\n He blames the attack on the regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated national politics for nearly three decades before Abiy took office in 2018.\n<\/p>\n
\n The TPLF denies responsibility and says the reported attack is a pretext for an \"invasion\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Two days later, with fighting intensifying, Abiy sacks the head of the military whose top brass includes many battle-hardened Tigrayans.\n<\/p>\n
\n On November 9 Ethiopia carries out more air strikes in Tigray with Abiy saying the operation will be all over \"soon\".\n<\/p>\n
\n - Fleeing to Sudan -\n<\/p>\n
\n Thousands of refugees flee into neighbouring Sudan as the African Union follows the United Nations in demanding an end to the fighting.\n<\/p>\n
\n Refugee flows later swell to above 60,000. Tensions between the two countries, whose frontier is disputed, mount.\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'War crimes' -\n<\/p>\n
\n After ten days of fighting, the UN warns of possible war crimes in Tigray.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Capital falls -\n<\/p>\n
\n Two weeks later, having rejected peace talks, Abiy says government tanks are advancing on Tigray's capital Mekele.\n<\/p>\n
\n The city comes under heavy shelling on November 28 before Abiy announces that military operations in Tigray are \"completed\".\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'Ethnic cleansing' -\n<\/p>\n
\n This month US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ramps up the pressure when he describes violence in western Tigray as \"ethnic cleansing\" and presses for a prompt investigation.\n<\/p>\n
\n He also calls for the exit of troops from Eritrea and from Ethiopia's Amhara region, which borders Tigray to the south.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Admitting abuse -\n<\/p>\n
\n For months Ethiopia and Eritrea flatly deny the involvement of Eritrean forces in the conflict, and describe reports of their alleged atrocities as misinformation and propaganda.\n<\/p>\n
\n But on March 23 Ahmed admits that Eritrean troops had crossed the border into Tigray.\n<\/p>\n
\n He also suggests they may have been involved in abuses against civilians.\n<\/p>\n
\n The next day the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says Eritrean soldiers massacred over 100 civilians in Tigray in November, in what may amount to crimes against humanity.\n<\/p>\n
\n The findings by the government-affiliated but independent body corroborate separate investigations by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Withdrawal? -\n<\/p>\n
\n After admitting Eritrea's role, Abiy flies to its capital Asmara to meet with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.\n<\/p>\n
\n He says on Friday that \"the government of Eritrea has agreed to withdraw its forces\" back over the border.\n<\/p>\n
\n A statement from Eritrea's government, however, makes no mention of a troop withdrawal deal.\n<\/p>\n
\n burs-eab\/rcb\/pma<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reporting that Eritrean plans to pull troops out of Ethiopia's conflict-hit Tigray region, here is a timeline of the ongoing crisis in Africa's second most populous country. - Troops enter - The fighting begins on November 4 last year, with Abiy ordering a military response to what he calls […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-75388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n