OMM Redaksiyası
Ethiopia’s army said it had killed at least 272 fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in a counter-offensive in the northwestern Amhara region, according to Al Jazeera, citing AFP and Reuters.
The Ethiopian National Defence Force said on Thursday that 260 other Tigrayan fighters had been wounded and several had been captured.
In a statement, the army said government forces had launched the counter-offensive after the TPLF and allied groups attacked several areas of North Wollo, an Amhara region bordering Tigray. It said the operation inflicted heavy personnel and equipment losses on the TPLF.
TPLF describes fighting as “full-blown war”
TPLF Vice President Amanuel Assefa told AFP that Ethiopia was now in a “full-blown war”. He confirmed that Tigrayan forces were fighting alongside local armed groups in Afar and Amhara.
The escalation followed the announcement by the TPLF and six other armed groups of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival. The alliance has pledged to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
The coalition includes the newly formed Amhara Fano National Movement, the Oromo Liberation Army and groups from the Somali, Afar and Benishangul-Gumuz regional states.
Fighting disrupts air travel
Tigrayan forces have seized three local airports, disrupting air travel in the region. Flights to Lalibela, an Amhara destination known for its medieval rock-hewn churches and listed by UNESCO, were suspended on Thursday, Reuters reported.
AFP also reported fighting around Lalibela, forcing the closure of its airport. The area has frequently been targeted by Fano, a local armed group now operating alongside the TPLF.
Conflict linked to wider Horn of Africa tensions
The TPLF last fought Ethiopia’s federal government in 2020. The devastating two-year conflict ended with a peace agreement in 2022.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Ethiopian President Taye Atske-Selassie Amde blamed the latest escalation on “forces of destruction and mayhem” and “interference in our internal affairs by adversarial elements”.
Analysts say the Tigrayan rebels have support from Eritrea, which is concerned that landlocked Ethiopia may seek to invade its territory to gain access to the Red Sea. Asked whether the TPLF would request Eritrean intervention, Assefa said: “Not yet.”
Ethiopia’s internal conflicts are increasingly intertwined with broader rivalries in the Horn of Africa, including Addis Ababa’s deteriorating relations with Eritrea and Sudan’s ongoing civil war.
