Ethiopia shuts schools to support war effort

Ethiopia's education ministry has announced a temporary closure of all secondary schools to allow students to help in harvesting crops for Ethiopians on the war front, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) has reported.

Education Minister Berhanu Nega said the schools would be closed for a week.

On Monday, the government said more than 1.2 million students were out of school due to the ongoing conflict in the north.

The fighting has also destroyed hundreds of schools.

The government announced a six-month state of emergency in November to contain a Tigrayan rebel advancement towards the capital, Addis Ababa.

This article originally appeared in BBC News.

Photo: Twitter.