 The Ethiopian military held a ceremony in the capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday to bid farewell to their newest recruits. The mayor's office says 3,000 women and men will join the ranks of Ethiopia's National Defense Force, Ethiopia's Defense Minister Kenai Yadeta, and Deputy Mayor Adina Abebe watched the celebrations, an eight-month-old war between the central government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front. The party that controls the Tigray region is spreading to other parts of northern Ethiopia, and youth from other parts of the country are joining federal forces in the fight.