Tens of thousands of Ethiopians vowed to defend the capital from advancing rebels during a pro-military rally on Sunday where attendees dismissed diplomatic efforts to end the year-long war.
The rally in central Addis Ababa was the latest attempt to shore up public support for the conflict against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and allied groups.
It came five days after the government declared a nationwide state of emergency ostensibly to protect civilians from the TPLF, which has claimed key gains in recent days while floating a possible march on the capital. US official Jeffrey Feltman arrived in Ethiopia to try to broker an end to the hostilities.
The US embassy announced that it was ordering the departure of non-emergency staff, days after countries including Saudi Arabia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark urged their citizens to leave.
Data source: Noovell.com
