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Will the Ethiopian conflict affect UAE-Egyptian relations?

As the conflict escalates between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray region, the United Arab Emirates' support for the Ethiopian regime threatens to strain Emirati-Egyptian relations.

TOPSHOT - An armed member of the community security stands in front of a school where a polling station is located during Tigrays regional elections, in the town of Tikul, 15 kms east from Mekele, Ethiopia, on September 9, 2020. - Ethiopia's northern Tigray region vote on September 9, 2020 in parliamentary elections that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government has deemed illegal.
Polls opened at 6am (0300 GMT) across the mountainous northern Tigray region despite a federal decision to postpone all elections
An armed member of a community security force stands in front of a school where a polling station is located during Tigray's regional elections, in the town of Tikul, 15 kms east from Mekelle, Ethiopia, on Sept. 9, 2020. — EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP via Getty Images

CAIRO — As Ethiopia teeters on the brink of civil war, the Ethiopian army threatened on Nov. 22 to send tanks to Mekelle, the capital of the northern Tigray region. It warned civilians that it could bomb the city, inhabited by 500,000 people.

“The next phases are the decisive part of the operation, which is to encircle Mekelle using tanks, ending the battle in the mountainous areas and advancing toward the fields,” military spokesperson Col. Dejene Tsegaye told the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation.

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