Ethiopia said Wednesday that pro-government forces had recaptured the UNESCO World Heritage site Lalibela, which fell to Tigrayan forces in August, as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's administration seeks to wrest back territory from Tigrayan forces.
After
the rebels claimed major territorial gains as part of an advance on the capital
Addis Ababa, Abiy announced last week that he would head to the battlefield as
fighting reportedly rages on at least three fronts in the country.
Since
then, the government has announced that it has taken back control of several
small towns, including Shewa Robit, around 220 kilometres (135 miles) northeast
of the capital by road and most recently, Lalibela which is famed for its
12th-century rock-hewn churches.
Pro-Abiy
forces have "captured the historical town of Lalibela and Lalibela
international airport," the government communications service said in a
statement read out on government-affiliated broadcaster, Walta TV.
The
statement added that pro-government forces were also "marching on Sekota
city" in the Amhara region in northern Ethiopia, even as fighting
reportedly spreads to Debre Sina, a town located less than 200 kilometres by
road from the capital, Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed encouraged Tigrayan Defense forces to surrender on Tuesday, saying that government forces were on the verge of triumph only a week after pledging to lead military operations at the front.
"Tigray's young are wilting like leaves. It is being governed by someone who does not have a clear vision or plan, despite the fact that it is defeated "In remarks broadcast on state television, EBC, Abiy Ahmed, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, stated.
"They
should hand over to the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, special forces,
militias, and the Ethiopian people now."
The
Tigray People's Liberation Front has been locked in a war with Abiy's
government since November 2020.
The
conflict took a sharp turn around a month ago, when the TPLF claimed to have
captured the strategic towns of Dessie and Kombolcha, located on a key highway
to the capital.
Fears of Tigray defense force's march on Addis Ababa have prompted the United States, France, Britain and other countries to urge their citizens to leave Ethiopia as soon as possible, though Abiy's government says TPLF gains are overstated and the city is secure.
The
war erupted when Abiy sent troops into the northernmost Tigray region to topple
the TPLF a move he said came in response to TPLF's attack on army camps.
The
fighting has killed thousands, displaced more than two million and driven
hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions, according to UN estimates.
By AP
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