\n As Ethiopian warplanes reportedly hit the Tigrayan capital with the first air strikes on the city since the early stages of the 11-month-old conflict, here is a timeline of the fighting in the restive northern region.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Troops enter Tigray -\n<\/p>\n
\n Military action begins on November 4, 2020 when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed orders a response to what he calls a \"traitorous\" attack on federal army camps in Tigray.\n<\/p>\n
\n He blames it on the region's ruling Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated Ethiopian 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\" of Tigray.\n<\/p>\n
\n Tens of thousands flee to neighbouring Sudan.\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'War crimes' -\n<\/p>\n
\n After 10 days of fighting, the United Nations warns of possible war crimes in Tigray.\n<\/p>\n
\n Neighbouring Eritrea -- with which Abiy signed a peace deal in 2018 that helped him win the Nobel Peace Prize -- is reported to have sent troops into Tigray to help Abiy.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Capital falls -\n<\/p>\n
\n Two weeks later, having rejected peace talks, Abiy launches an offensive on Tigray's capital Mekele.\n<\/p>\n
\n On November 28 he announces military operations are \"completed\", but fighting continues, hindering aid supplies.\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'Ethnic cleansing' -\n<\/p>\n
\n In February 2021 Amnesty International says Eritrean soldiers killed \"hundreds of civilians\" in November in the holy city of Axum.\n<\/p>\n
\n US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urges Eritrea to withdraw and describes violence in western Tigray as \"ethnic cleansing\".\n<\/p>\n
\n For months Ethiopia and Eritrea deny the involvement of Eritrean forces in the conflict.\n<\/p>\n
\n But on March 23 Abiy admits Eritrean troops were there and the next day the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says they massacred more than 100 civilians in Axum.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Withdrawal? -\n<\/p>\n
\n In early April, Ethiopia says Eritrean troops have \"started to evacuate\" Tigray, but on April 15 the UN says there is no evidence of them pulling out.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Famine -\n<\/p>\n
\n As international outrage mounts, AFP obtains government documents showing Eritrean troops are looting and blocking food aid.\n<\/p>\n
\n In late May, US President Joe Biden calls for a ceasefire and says rights abuses \"must end\".\n<\/p>\n
\n In June the World Food Programme warns of a risk of famine in Tigray.\n<\/p>\n
\n Elections are held across much of Ethiopia, but not in Tigray.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Deadly market air strike -\n<\/p>\n
\n At least 64 people are killed and 180 injured in an Ethiopian air strike on a market in Togoga on June 22.\n<\/p>\n
\n The attack was aimed at rebel fighters, Ethiopia's military insists.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Rebel advance -\n<\/p>\n
\n Tigray's interim government flees on June 28 in the face of a rebel advance on Mekele.\n<\/p>\n
\n The federal government announces a \"unilateral ceasefire\" but the rebels -- who continue to push south -- vow to fight on if their demands are not met.\n<\/p>\n
\n On July 14, four days after Abiy's party wins national elections, he vows to repel the rebels.\n<\/p>\n
\n The next day three Ethiopian regions deploy forces to back military operations in Tigray.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Conflict spreads -\n<\/p>\n
\n The conflict spreads to two neighbouring regions, Afar and Amhara, with Tigray rebels seizing Lalibela and its sunken rock-hewn churches, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Amhara on August 5.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Population called up -\n<\/p>\n
\n The next day the rebels rebuff US calls to withdraw and Ethiopia warns it could deploy its \"entire defensive capability\".\n<\/p>\n
\n On August 10 Abiy calls for civilians to join the armed forces.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Mekele air strikes -\n<\/p>\n
\n Abiy is sworn in for a new five-year term in office on October 4.\n<\/p>\n
\n Two weeks later, in a new phase in the conflict, Ethiopian aircraft carry out two air raids on Mekele, according to humanitarian, diplomatic and rebel sources.\n<\/p>\n
\n bur-ang-eab-fg\/txw\/ach<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Ethiopian warplanes reportedly hit the Tigrayan capital with the first air strikes on the city since the early stages of the 11-month-old conflict, here is a timeline of the fighting in the restive northern region. - Troops enter Tigray - Military action begins on November 4, 2020 when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed orders […]<\/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-83386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n