By John Ikani
The Ethiopian Government says secondary schools will be closed across the country to help support the ongoing national call amid military operations against the rebel forces.
Announcing this on Thursday, the nation’s Ministry of Education said the schools would be closed for a week.
The latest move came as the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) supported by regional allies and the popular movement intensified its military operations against the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
On Monday, the Government said more than 1.2 million students were out of school due to the ongoing conflict in the north.
The fighting has also destroyed hundreds of schools.
Since the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed joined frontline combat last week, ENDF and its affiliate forces have shown strong mobilization against rebel forces amid the expanding conflict in the northern part of Ethiopia.
Over the past few days, the ENDF jointly with regional forces and militia fighters, has claimed control of strategic cities and towns across Amhara and Afar regions, bordering the Tigray region.
Last week, Ahmed had called on “all patriotic Ethiopians” to join him in frontline combat against forces loyal to the TPLF.
“The time necessitates leading the nation through martyrdom. To this end, I will march to the battlefield from tomorrow onwards to lead our defense forces,” Ahmed had said in his call to the nation.
The conflict, which erupted on Nov. 4 last year in Ethiopia’s northernmost Tigray region between TPLF, which used to rule the Tigray region, and the Federal Government, has over the past months spread across neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions.
The Government announced a six-month state of emergency in November to contain a Tigrayan rebel advancement towards the capital, Addis Ababa.
Last month, the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives ratified a six-month state of emergency rule to contain the rebel group’s advancement and to ensure the country’s peace and security.
