NAIROBI: The Tigray rebel forces fighting Ethiopia 's federal army say they will release 4,000 prisoners of war as part of an amnesty.The Tigray Peoples' Liberation Front announced the release on Twitter Friday, amid an escalating war of words between Ethiopian and Tigray region officials over provocations and preparations for another round of full-blown war.The Tigray forces decided to release 4,208 prisoners of war with an amnesty, out of which 401 are women, according to the tweet. "Most of them were captured (in fighting) outside of the Tigray region, and others joined the fight in a forced conscription," Birhane Kebede, coordinator of the prisoners' center in the region, was quoted as saying by the regional ruling party. In July 2021 they announced the release of 1,000 federal army soldiers after parading them in front of the public. In recent months the Ethiopian has relaxed the restrictions somewhat to allow a better flow of aid into the Tigray region.This month has seen a toughening of rhetoric between the warring sides. Tigray spokesman, Getachew Reda , said on Twitter on May 12 that there had been several instances of indiscriminate shelling on civilians in parts of Tigray by Eritrean forces.On the other side, Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen charged that the Tigray leaders had issued "a call for war" and urged the international community to condemn it.

Source: Ethiopian News May 21, 2022 14:31 UTC