(ZEROHEDG) – The U.S. State Department is now urging all Americans in Ethiopia to leave the war-torn country "as soon as possible." This after the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa previously posted a "do not travel" advisory to its official website and began making preparations of its own to evacuate non-essential staff.
At the start of this week, the Ethiopian government went so far as to tell residents of the capital city of some 5 million people to start arming themselves as rebel Tigrayan fighters began a march southward from their northern enclave, with plans to overthrow the government under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
In recent days rebel commanders have claimed to be holding positions just outside the capital, after previously overrunning government positions in the town of Kemissie, some 200 miles to the northeast. A six-month state of emergency, or what essentially gives authorities martial law powers over the civilian populace, went into effect on Wednesday. On the same day PM Abiy vowed that "Ethiopia will not collapse. Ethiopia will prosper."
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