Tigray rebels have recaptured the north Ethiopian town of Lalibela, home to a Unesco world heritage site, 11 days after Ethiopian forces said they had retaken control, local residents have said. Lalibela, 400 miles north of Addis Ababa, is home to 11 medieval monolithic cave churches hewn into the red rock and is a key pilgrimage site for Ethiopian Christians. Tigrayan fighters “are in the town centre, there’s no fighting,” one resident said on Sunday afternoon. But the rebels mounted a shock comeback, recapturing most of Tigray by June before advancing into the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar. The UN says the conflict has plunged 9.4 million people “into a critical situation of food assistance” in the regions of Tigray, Afar and Amhara.

Source: Ethiopian News December 12, 2021 23:15 UTC