criticized by the federal government. In June 2020, the Ethiopian parliament—which TPLF was a party to—voted to postpone the 2021 Ethiopian General Election which was originally scheduled to occur in 2020. The TPLF defied the parliamentary vote and held regional elections anyway. The 2020 Tigray regional election was held on 9 September 2020. It was open to international observers, boycotted by Arena Tigray and the Tigray Democratic Party and 2.7 million people participated in the election. Prime Minister Ahmed stated that the federal government would not recognize the results of the election and banned foreign journalists from traveling to Tigray to document the elections. 2020–2021: Tigray War In November 2020, a civil conflict broke out between the TPLF and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) when the TPLF attacked the ENDF Northern Command headquarters in what TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda called a "preemptive operation". In November 2020, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared victory over TPLF. Other sources implied that the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) was actually in control of only about 70% of the Tigray region. Many TPLF members joined the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF). The conflict caused a humanitarian crisis in many parts of the country, and estimates of the number of deaths are in the thousands. As of March 2021, approximately 2 million people had been displaced by the crisis, but the full extent of the crisis was unknown. The TPLF has accused the ENDF and Eritrean forces of war crimes, but it is difficult to independently verify these claims because of the media blackout that has been imposed by the Federal Government under Abiy. On 23 March 2021, the Prime Minister acknowledged for the first time that Eritrean military forces had been in the Tigray region, after international pressure. In July 2021, after the Ethiopian government had declared a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew from much of the Tigray Region, the TDF invaded the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions. The ENDF then launched its own counteroffensive and by December 2021 had recaptured those regions. As of March 2022, the war had ground to a virtual stalemate. The TPLF has been accused of forced enlistment into the TDF, including that of minors. According to multiple witnesses and Tigrayan administrative officials, each household in Tigray was required to enlist one family member to the TDF, and those who refused to comply were arrested and imprisoned, including parents of minors