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Ethiopia on Thursday said rebels in war-stricken Tigray had been driven out of neighboring Afar as both sides blamed themselves for civilian casualties in a “massacre” that killed dozens of people.
The office of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF) had “suffered heavy losses” and was forced to withdraw from Afar, two months after rebels launched incursions into the region – the last turn in 10 months of war.
“The TPLF’s claims that it has withdrawn from the Afar region – and I am saying this in quotes – is not true. They have been routed,” Abiy spokeswoman Billene said. Seyoum, during a press conference.
“The Afar militia is working closely with the national defense forces and the TPLF has suffered many casualties in recent weeks,” she added.
TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda disputed this claim in a series of Twitter posts.
“#Abiy & Co are trying to make their followers believe that they are progressing on the battlefields in #Amhara and #Afar: they are not doing it,” he said, adding that “thousands of people are cleaned by our forces “daily.
But he made no mention of operations in Afar, instead pointing to the fighting in three Amhara cities.
“There has been no fighting in #Afar, and the fighting in the Amhara region is unfolding in a way that will ensure that #Abiy cannot lie,” he said.
TPLF officials could not be reached for comment and troop movements in Afar could not be independently verified.
Northern Ethiopia has been ravaged by violence since last November, when Abiy, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, sent troops to Tigray, saying the move was a response to attacks on camps in Tigray. army by the TPLF, then the ruling party in the region.
Massacre Probe
The back-and-forth came a day after officials and doctors in the Amhara region accused the TPLF of slaughtering 125 civilians in the Amhara village of Chenna.
The toll could not be independently verified and AFP was unable to confirm whether those killed were civilians or combatants.
Getachew said on Wednesday that the rebels “categorically rejected allegations that our forces were involved in the killing of civilians.”
He explained Thursday, accusing Abiy of sending “priests, women and children” into battle as cannon fodder.
“Our forces are trying to avoid the massacre of children and women as best they can,” he said.
“We are taking very measured measures to avoid the unnecessary loss of civilians in the press while relentlessly destroying all that remains of the capabilities of enemy forces.”
Billene said Thursday that the death toll in Chenna was “around 200 innocent civilians, including women, children, the elderly and deacons.”
Ethiopia and its regions. By Simon MALFATTO (AFP) She said authorities had formed a committee to investigate the incident.
Last week, the African Union urged Abiy’s government to step up efforts to secure humanitarian access to Tigray to avoid famine, as aid workers struggle to reach desperate populations.
Abiy rejected early calls from high-level AU envoys for talks with the Tigrayan leadership, sticking to his line that the conflict is a limited operation of “law and order”.
On Thursday, Billene said Ethiopia was studying offers from neighboring countries to help facilitate a solution to the conflict.
“These efforts are viewed positively by the Ethiopian government and as an extension of goodwill, and they are under review.”
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