Ethiopia's Tigray rebels urged to disarm as commander vows to fight on

An official in Tigray’s new federal-backed administration urged rebel fighters to lay down their weapons Friday, hours after a rebel commander called for continued resistance despite losing the northern Ethiopian region’s capital.The calls came nearly three weeks after rebels trying to overthrow the government lost control of Mekelle, Tigray's capital. Government-allied fighters entered Mekelle on Oct. 4 after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, withdrew.Redae Halefom Woldeselassie, the caretaker administration’s chief executive for political and public mobilization, said rebel forces were collapsing and urged fighters to enter a disarmament and reintegration program.“This is not the time for settling scores, I call upon you to return to your homes and continue your civilian lives,” he said in Mekelle.He dismissed the prospect of the rebels retaking the city and portrayed the conflict as serving a small group of leaders rather than the people of Tigray.Hours earlier, Lt. Gen. Fisseha Kidanu, who was identified in a television broadcast as commander of the Tigray army, pledged to reverse recent military setbacks.“Local militias across the region — alongside all volunteers...