Addis Ababa – Official source of the Ethiopian government estimated today (Tuesday) at around two million internally displaced people in the regions of Amhara and Afar, due to the conflict that for a year ago has pitted the central government against rebels in the northern province of Tigray.
According to Bilene Seyoum, press secretary to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who was speaking at a press conference in Addis Ababa, more than 1.4 million people in Amhara (adjacent to Tigray to the south and west) and about 400,000 in Afar (east) they had to leave their homes because of the conflict.
Bilene’s announcement came a day after the Ethiopian Government announced that it had regained control of several strategic cities due to their relative proximity to the capital and that they were under the control of rebels from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF, in its initials). in English).
Abiy’s office announced on Monday, on the social network Twitter, “the taking of the cities of Bati, Gerba, Kersa, Degan, Dessie and Kombolcha” to the TPLF rebels.
The announcement confirms the trend of advances by the government armed forces into territories that were previously under rebel control in Amhara and Afar.
The fall of Dessie and Kombolcha at the end of October was particularly significant, placing TPLF forces less than 400 kilometers from Addis Ababa and marking the intensification of the conflict and the establishment of a state of emergency in the country.
The rebel threat to Addis Ababa led even Abiy Ahmed, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, to announce at the end of November that he would go to the combat front to personally lead the defense of the capital and give new impetus to the government offensive.
The recovery of these cities joins other symbolic victories of government forces in recent days, including the retaking of the historic city of Lalibela, where the famous rock-cut churches declared World Heritage by the UN agency for Education, Science are located. and culture (UNESCO) and that since August were controlled by the rebels.
At the press meeting, Bilene accused the rebel forces of having left behind “a terrible level of destruction” by sharing some images allegedly taken from the recovered cities, where several buildings and infrastructure can be seen – including the airport of Lalibela – demolished.
To that destruction is added “evidence of serious atrocities and violations of human rights”, but without giving any further information in this regard.
On the TPLF side, its spokesman, Getachew Reda, on Monday downplayed the loss of territory, which he classified as a “territorial adjustment” and attributing the withdrawal to “tactical, operational and strategic considerations”.
The federal government has been at war for more than a year with the TPLF rebels.
The conflict erupted on November 4, 2020, when the Ethiopian prime minister ordered an army offensive against the ruling TPLF in Tigray, allegedly in retaliation for an attack on a federal military base, and culminating a long streak of tensions and political clashes.
In response, the TPLF has formed alliances with other rebel groups, such as the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), active in the Oromia region, which involves the very capital, Addis Ababa, which the Oromo call Finfinne.
According to the UN, thousands of people have been killed and an estimated two million have been forced to flee their homes since the outbreak of violence a year ago.
In addition, an estimated 9.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in northern Ethiopia due to the escalation of war, according to the World Food Program (WFP).
The intensification of the conflict in recent months and the fear that the rebels could take the capital of the second most populous country in Africa (more than 110 million people) have reinvigorated the diplomatic efforts, so far unsuccessful, towards the cessation of hostilities and signing of a negotiated agreement.
Source: Angola Press News Agency