Tigrayan forces said on Saturday they had seized the strategic town of Dessie in Ethiopia's Amhara region where tens of thousands of ethnic Amharas have sought refuge from an escalation in fighting, but the government denied this.
The
fighters pushed Ethiopian government forces from Dessie and were headed towards
the town of Kombolcha, Getachew Reda, spokesperson for the Tigray People's
Liberation Front (TPLF), told Reuters by satellite phone from an undisclosed
location.
He
said Tigrayan forces had captured numerous Ethiopian soldiers.
Legesse
Tulu, the government spokesperson, told Reuters in a text message that the town
was still under the control of the Ethiopian government and said claims by the
Tigrayan forces were "fabricated propaganda".
The
Unites States on Saturday afternoon called on Tigrayan forces to halt their
advances "in and around the cities of Dessie and Kombolcha" and
renewed calls for them to withdraw from the Amhara and Afar regions.
Asked
about the Tigrayan forces' claims, Ethiopian military spokesman Colonel Getnet
Adane referred Reuters to the federal government. Amhara spokesperson Gizachew
Muluneh, the mayor of Dessie and a spokesperson for the town did not respond to
requests for comment.
Reuters
could not independently verify the account of either side as phone lines in
Dessie appeared to be down as of Saturday afternoon.
The
capture of Dessie would be a strategic gain for the Tigrayan fighters against
the central government forces who are trying to dislodge them from the Amhara
region.
The
large town is some 385 km (240 miles) from the capital, Addis Ababa, and is the
furthest south in Amhara that the TPLF has reached since pushing into the
region in July.
A
school director in Dessie said he saw Ethiopian soldiers retreating from the
town on Saturday morning towards Kombolcha and that power across town had been
off since Friday.
Another
resident of Dessie also said the town had no power and that the federal army
had left. Both said they had heard Tigrayan fighters were in town but had not
seen them. Both residents spoke on condition of anonymity.
War
broke nearly a year ago between federal troops and the TPLF. Thousands of
people have been killed and more than 2 million people have been forced to
flee.
Tigrayan
forces were initially beaten back, but recaptured most of the region in July
and pushed into the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions.
In
mid-October, the Tigrayan forces said the military had launched a ground
offensive to push them out of Amhara. The military said on Thursday there was
heavy fighting there, but accused the Tigrayan forces of starting it.
By Reuters
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