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Most people in the world have never heard of Mekelle, nor do they have any clarity about what kind of place it actually is. It's a place on the fringe, one where whatever happens never seems to draw attention.
Before arriving, Gao Guang had done his homework, but it wasn't until he actually reached Mekelle that he realized it wasn't very useful.
For instance, Gao Guang used to think that Mekelle was an area that the Tigrayans could absolutely control, but now he discovered that it didn't seem to be the case.
The Tiren Formation had its own armed force, whose numbers were currently a mystery. The Tigrayan population was just over three million, and by estimates, they could muster an army of over one hundred thousand. But currently, at most twenty thousand were inside Mekelle city, with the remainder scattered throughout the Tigray state.
