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Reuters

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NAIROBI, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Fighting between forces from Ethiopia's rebellious northern region of Tigray and forces loyal to the central government has erupted around the town of Kobo, a resident and the spokesman for the Tigrayan forces said on Wednesday.

"I am hearing sound of heavy weapons starting from this morning," said a farmer in the Kobo area who did not wish to be named. "Last week, I saw Amhara special forces and Fano (militia) heading to the front by bus."

Ethiopian government spokesman Legesse Tulu, military spokesman Colonel Getnet Adane and the prime minister's spokeswoman Billene Seyoum did not respond to requests for comment.

News: Ethiopia Army issues warning calling for immediate stop to “unverified, unnecessary information and rumors” on its current affairs

Source: Addis Standard

AUGUST 23, 2022

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Addis Abeba – In a statement it issued today, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) strongly warned and called for the immediate cessation on reporting “our army’s current affairs” using “unverified, unnecessary information and rumors.”

The army said that it firmly believes that the strength of the support and participation of the Ethiopian people to the Defense Forces are critical to effectively discharge the army’s mandate to protect the country’s sovereignty. Since the trust and mutual support built by our people and our army is standing on a firm foundation, we have been protecting the unity and sovereignty of our country while going through challenges together,” the statement said, adding “in the future, we will continue to show practically that we are invincible [in the face of] the nefarious conspiracies and plots and traps that our enemies set for us.”

The army said tat the recent infiltration by the Al-Shabaab militants through the eastern part of Ethiopia “with the intention of creating a clear danger, have been destroyed.” Similarly, “in the northern part of our country, the terrorist group TPLF is beating the drums of war,” the army said, accusing the party’s spokespersons of “defaming our army in their recent sermons. It is an open secret that they are running a campaign of blaming our defense forces on untenable excuses,” the statement said.

The army also accused Tigrayan authorities of using the international media to echo “their pre-conflict cries” saying “the peace negotiation has broken down” and accusing the army of attacking with heavy weapons which is known to “the chain of command from top to bottom…” among others.

“We have noticed that some social media reports and information are accepting the same pessimistic accusations…just as we noticed that the media of our country are aware of the enemy’s plot and agenda and challenge it.”

Furthermore, the army also warned that “reporting on the activities of the enemy without enough information will disrupt the daily lives of our people.” And blamed those that are reporting on the military activities regarding the existence of war in the country was being taken as income generation means on social media. It warned that such reporting also undermine the security forces.

The army has been making public information on its current situation and activities when it becomes necessary, the statement said and added that it will be done in the same way in the future. “At this time when our army stands ready to resist any attack with determination and caution…we have noticed that there are irresponsible elements who are trapped in the propaganda of the enemy, echoing negative information and spreading the activities of our army through various means of communication. This action cannot have any negative effect on the performance of our army.”

Therefore, the army said it strongly urges social media entities that report on such unbalanced activities “knowingly or unknowingly to refrain from their actions.”

It further warned that legal actions will be taken against “those who continue this act carelessly… or stand not corrected” and the army “will be forced to hold accountable and as necessary bring criminal charges” against those “who endanger the security of the country by spreading the secrets of the army”, and “fanning the enemy’s agenda.” AS