Ethiopian PM at frontline - state affiliated TV
Ethiopian Prime Minsiter Abiy Ahmed is on the frontline of the Tigray conflict - state-affiliated television has reported.
In footage from Fana Broadcasting, Abiy can be seen in military fatigues and is said to be alongside the army fighting rebellious Tigrayan forces in the northeastern Afar region - though the location could not be independently verified.
"The enemy doesn't know our capabilities and our preparations. Because of their contempt and from their wrong evaluation of us, they have made attempts. But instead of sitting in Addis, we made a change and decided to come to the front. As you can see, this mountain was held by the enemy until yesterday. Now we have captured it. Today we will also capture Chifra and Burka."
Abiy announced late on Monday night that he was going to the frontlines.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front and its allies had threatened to march on the capital or try to cut a corridor linking landlocked Ethiopia to the region's largest port.
U.S. Special Envoy Jeffrey Feltman said this week that the Tigrayan forces had been able to make progress south towards the capital, but that the military had beaten back several attempts to cut the transport corridor on the eastern front.
