The Ethiopian authorities warned Friday that they may deploy their "full defensive capabilities" after the advances made by the Tigray rebels in neighboring regions, especially in Amhara.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the government "is being pushed to mobilize and deploy the full defense capacity of the state if its humanitarian initiatives for a peaceful solution to the conflict remain without similar steps from the opposing party."
"The group´s irresponsible actions are testing the patience of the federal government and prompting it to change its defensive position, which was taken for a unilateral ceasefire on humanitarian grounds," she added.
Earlier Friday, a spokesman for the Tigray People´s Liberation Front rejected calls to withdraw from the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared a unilateral ceasefire in late June, after the Tigray People´s Liberation Front forces recaptured the capital, Mekele.
Senior US officials urged the Tigray People´s Liberation Front to withdraw from the eastern and southern regions of the region, and called on all parties to stop hostilities and focus instead on addressing the humanitarian "disaster" in the region.
