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ADDIS ABABA. –  Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has gone to direct the war from the front lines, state-affiliated media reported yesterday, as two Olympian athletes announced they were enlisting in the military.

Gold medallist Haile Gebreselassie, who set 27 long distance running records, told Reuters he was joining up. So is Olympic silver medallist runner Feyisa Lelisa, local media reported

While Abiy is away, Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen would take charge of routine government business in his absence, government spokesman Legesse Tulu told a news conference, according to a report from Fana news outlet.

Abiy announced late on Monday he was planning to personally direct the fight against Tigrayan forces and their allies.

”Let’s meet at the war front,” he wrote “The time has come to lead the country with sacrifice.”

Last month Tigrayan forces and their allies threatened to march on the capital Addis Ababa. They have also been fighting fiercely to try to cut a transport corridor linking landlocked Ethiopia with the region’s main port Djibouti.

Yesterday, Switzerland and Britain advised their citizens to leave Ethiopia, citing the worsening security situation. France and the United State have already called on citizens to leave. – Reuters