By The East African

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The Ethiopian government has issued an order banning media from covering military operations as conflict heightens in the Horn of Africa nation.

In a tweet, Abiy Ahmed’s administration has asked media practitioners to desist from reporting military operations in his country. However, the ban isn’t clear on whether it applies to both local or international media.

Several media outlets reported that the Central Command of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces said the press has been banned from reporting on military operations, battlefields and consequences of the conflict.

The general ban comes a week after the Ethiopian Media Authority issued a warning to some international media houses regarding their coverage on the ongoing conflict. The warning was issued to BBC World News, CNN, Reuters and the Associated Press, with the government threatening it will revoke their licences for reporting “fake news”.

In 2019, Ethiopia rose 40 positions to 110th in Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index and to 99 in 2020 only to slip to 101 in 2021 as the moderator noted.