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Rebels in war-stricken Ethiopia have carried out operations against pro-government troops in the neighboring Afar region, a spokesperson said on Sunday, opening a new front in the conflict that has since spread. eight months.
The “very limited action” targeted special forces and militiamen in the Oromia region, the largest in Ethiopia, who were massing along the Tigray-Afar border, the spokesman told AFP. rebels, Getachew Reda.
“We have taken these steps to ensure that these forces are returned to Oromia, and we have succeeded in doing so,” Getachew said, adding that there had been a few casualties but he could not provide figures.
“Our action was very limited to dispersing the peasant militia of Oromia, which was for the most part in a hurry to wage the unnecessary war.”
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to Tigray last November to arrest and disarm the leaders of the then ruling party in the region, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF).
Unilateral ceasefire
He said the move came in response to TPLF attacks on Federal Army camps.
The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize laureate declared victory in late November after government forces captured Mekele, the capital of Tigray, but TPLF leaders remained at large and fighting continued.
Last month, the war took an astonishing turn when pro-TPLF forces retook Mekele, Abiy declared a unilateral ceasefire, and the army mainly withdrew from Tigray.
But after rebel leaders launched a new offensive intended to regain control of western and southern Tigray – disputed areas that have been occupied by fighters from the Amhara region, which borders Tigray to the south – Abiy vowed to “push them back”.
The government has since mobilized forces in areas previously untouched by conflict, including Oromia.
A spokesperson for the Afar region did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday.
“Cancer of Ethiopia”
A state media report released on Saturday evening accused the TPLF, which the government considers a terrorist organization, of blocking aid to Tigray via Afar using “heavy bombing” and “heavy artillery”.
“Rejecting the federal government’s ceasefire, the TPLF is working to extend the conflict to the Afar region,” the Ethiopian news agency said.
Getachew has denied that any aid delivery has been cut off.
“Where the fighting took place, there is no main road that is used for aid purposes,” he said.
Getachew confirmed on Sunday that rebel units were also active in the northern Amhara region, where AFP journalists last week saw thousands of militiamen mobilize in border towns ahead of planned anti-TPLF operations. .
“We have also conducted successful operations at Wag Hemra, which is in the Amhara region, and even as we speak, some units are operating between Mai Tsebri (in western Tigray) and the neighboring territory of Amhara, ”he said.
In a statement posted on Twitter on Sunday, Abiy called the TPLF “junta” “cancer of Ethiopia.”
“As the saying goes, a Satan who stays for a long time cannot be eliminated immediately,” he said.
“It’s inevitable that it will rest one way or another. But surely, the junta will be suppressed so that it does not push back. “
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