OMM Newsroom
Ethiopia’s Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) said on Monday that its fighters killed 500 soldiers and wounded 800 others in clashes with federal government forces and allied militias in the northern Tigray region, Anadolu Agency reported.
The TPLF said the casualties occurred during fighting on Saturday near the historic city of Aksum, where its forces launched a counteroffensive against Ethiopian troops and members of the allied Tigray Peace Forces (TPF).
According to the TPLF-affiliated Dimtsi Weyane television station, the group killed 500 combatants, including two regiment commanders, and seriously wounded another 800 in the Daero Hafash and May Tmqet areas of Naeder district.
The broadcaster said government troops had advanced from Aksum and Mahbere Dego before encountering resistance from TPLF fighters.
The group also claimed it had captured territory and seized weapons, ammunition, food supplies and medical equipment. It accused federal forces of using artillery and drones in the operation and said telephone and internet services had been disrupted in the area.
The Ethiopian government has not commented on the casualty figures, which could not be independently verified.
The claims follow weeks of fighting between federal forces and TPLF fighters, raising concerns about a renewed large-scale conflict in northern Ethiopia. Government troops and allied forces captured several towns, including Tigray’s regional capital, Mekelle, in early October, but TPLF fighters have continued to mount counterattacks.
The renewed hostilities have also heightened tensions between Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea. Addis Ababa has accused Eritrea of supporting armed groups operating in Tigray, an allegation Eritrea has rejected.
Separately, Sudan has accused Ethiopia of allowing 70 drone attacks to be launched from its territory between February and October, killing or wounding hundreds of civilians and soldiers. Sudanese authorities have also accused Addis Ababa of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been fighting Sudan’s army since 2023.
The escalation threatens to deepen instability in a region devastated by the 2020-2022 Tigray war, which displaced millions and caused widespread humanitarian suffering.
