Ethiopian troops say they have recaptured cities from Tigray militants | Conflict Issues

The government says the military has also seized several TPLF towns including Kobo and Waldia in the north.

Ethiopia has announced that its troops have taken control of several towns, including Kobo and Waldia in the north, from Tigrayan insurgents.

Conflict between forces loyal to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) militant group has also created a major humanitarian crisis and has led the UN Human Rights Council to call for a major crisis. a global investigation into bullying.

It has been marked by a bloody conflict during the 13-month war that has claimed thousands of lives.

Communication has been reduced in the battlefield and access to journalists is restricted, making it difficult to substantiate military statements.

But on Saturday, a government spokesman said Abiy’s forces had “managed to take control of Sanqa, Sirinqa, and the cities of Waldia, Hara, Gobiye, Robit and Kobo”.

“The enemy of the enemy who fled the destruction and fled … is being pursued by allied forces,” he said in a statement on his Facebook page.

Since the end of October, both sides have made significant progress and several cities appear to have changed in the weeks since then.

Sunday, the terrorists also acquired UNESCO World Heritage sites in Lalibela, 11 days after Ethiopian troops announced their capture of the TPLF.

The war began in November 2020 when Abiy sent troops into northern Tigray, Ethiopia, to overthrow the TPLF, accusing them of attacking the camps.

He promised a quick victory but the rebels returned unexpectedly, taking most of the Tigray by June before heading to the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions, where Kobo and Waldia are located.

The war has displaced more than 2 million people and left hundreds of thousands starving, according to UN estimates, with reports of mass killings and rapes on both sides.

On Friday, the UN Human Rights Council voted to send international investigators to the second most populous country in Africa amid warnings of impending violence, which has been criticized by Addis Ababa.

African Union-led diplomatic efforts to end war have failed.