How far will Ethiopia’s PM go to fight rebels in Tigray?

Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister is raising the stakes in the battle for Tigray.

Abiy Ahmed is urging “all capable citizens” to join the army and stop the region’s rebels “once and for all”.

He launched an offensive last November against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

But government troops have struggled to hold back the rebels, despite help from neighbouring Eritrea.

Two million people have been forced from their homes, with more than 50,000 escaping across the border to Sudan.

In addition, Amnesty International says war crimes and crimes against humanity may have been committed, accusing mainly Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers of raping hundreds of women and girls.

So how far will Prime Minister Abiy go to win the battle?

Presenter: Hazem Sika

Guests:

Donatella Rovera – Senior crisis adviser in the Crisis Response Programme at Amnesty International

Samuel Getachew – Independent journalist

Martin Plaut – Senior research fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London

The Ethiopian government and the TPLF did not respond to requests to join the panel