Nairobi: Tigray rebels on Sunday recaptured the north Ethiopian town of Lalibela, home to a UNESCO world heritage site, local residents told AFP, 11 days after Ethiopian forces said they had re-taken control. Tigrayan fighters "are in the town centre, there’s no fighting", said a resident reached by telephone on Sunday afternoon. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group’s military leadership said in a statement shared with pro-TPLF media they had launched "comprehensive counter-offensives" in numerous locations including along the road linking Gashena and Lalibela. But the rebels mounted a shock comeback, recapturing most of Tigray by June before advancing into the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar. The more than 13 months of conflict have plunged 9.4 million people "into a critical situation of food assistance" in the regions of Tigray, Afar and Amhara, the United Nations says.

Source: Ethiopian News December 13, 2021 01:10 UTC