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Ethiopians told to protect capital against rebels

The Ethiopian army has struggled to halt a rebel advance
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State media in Ethiopia say the authorities in Addis Ababa are urging residents to register their private weapons within the next two days.

This follows comments by a rebel alliance that it was considering marching on to the Ethiopian capital.

The Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, the TPLF - which has been fighting government forces for the past year - has now linked up with fighters from an Oromo force - giving the rebels a major boost in their ability to threaten Addis Ababa.

A TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda told the BBC the alliance had already joined up north of the capital.

Rebel advances have sparked a national call to arms by Ethiopia's prime minister and there's a state of emergency in the Amhara and Oromia region.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.