Well over a month has passed since the Ethiopian military took control of Mekelle, the regional capital of Tigray, in the northernmost region of the country. Government forces have been engaged in a violent struggle with the dissident regional Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) party for two months, starting on November 4th of 2020. According to the TPLF, which ruled Ethiopia between 1991 and 2018, they are engaged in a fundamental fight for their right to self-determination against an invading force and will not give up. Recent reports from humanitarian organizations highlighted potential human rights abuses and war crimes. Fresh eyewitness accounts paint a desperate picture of suffering, inadequate medical supplies, fuel shortages and power cuts. Only on December 28 banks in Mekelle’s Ethiopia reopened again. Several thousand have died and many more have been displaced since the beginning of the hostilities on 4 November.