Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has appealed to citizens to take up arms to block advancing rebel fighters.
He made the call on Facebook after the rebels, from the northern Tigray state, reportedly seized control of more towns in neighbouring Amhara.
The government has accused rebel fighters of killing 100 youths in one of the towns.
The US has called for a ceasefire in a year-long conflict that has created a humanitarian crisis.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) says its aim is to break a siege of the northern region.
In his statement on Sunday, Mr Abiy said the rebels' advance was "pushing the country to its demise".
He urged citizens to "organise and march through [any] legal manner with every weapon and power... to prevent, reverse and bury the terrorist TPLF", according to a translation on the Addis Standard news site.
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United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the US is alarmed by reports that Tigrayan rebel forces have taken over two key Ethiopian towns of Dessie and Kombolcha.
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