Ethiopia nears war as PM orders military into defiant region

Ethiopia’s prime minister on Wednesday ordered the military to confront one of the country's regional governments after he said it carried out a deadly attack on a military base overnight, citing months of “provocation and incitement” and declaring that “the last red line has been crossed.” The statement by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office, and the reported attack by the well-armed Tigray People’s Liberation Front, immediately raised concerns that one of Africa’s most populous and powerful countries could plunge back into war. Addressing the nation on TV, Abiy announced “several martyrs” in the attack in Mekele, the northern Tigray region's capital, and Dansha town.