{"id":34265,"date":"2021-12-05T12:09:13","date_gmt":"2021-12-05T20:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cww7news.com\/?p=34265"},"modified":"2021-12-05T12:09:14","modified_gmt":"2021-12-05T20:09:14","slug":"ethiopia-closes-schools-to-boost-civil-war-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cww7news.com\/ethiopia-closes-schools-to-boost-civil-war-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopia closes schools to boost civil war effort"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Ethiopian authorities have closed all secondary schools so pupils can harvest crops for those on the frontline of the civil war, state-affiliated media says.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The closure will last for one week, according to the education minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More than 2 million pupils were already out of school due to the war which started in the northern region of Tigray last year, the government says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the fighting intensifies, government troops say they are taking towns from the Tigray rebels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Wednesday state forces announced they had recaptured the historic town of Lalibela<\/a>, which contains churches that are Unesco world heritage sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an interview with the BBC, an Ethiopian army commander said the country’s defence forces would not relent in their advances after recent gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I cannot say we will pause once we reach Mekelle [Tigray’s capital] or other places, rather we will recapture areas at the hands of Woyane [the Tigray People’s Liberation Front]. We will follow and get rid of them,” Lt-Gen Bacha Debele said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n