Spokesman: Tigray forces have not lost Mekelle, it is 'a lie'

MEKELLE, Ethiopia - The Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF] has refuted claims that it has lost Mekelle, the regional administrative capital of Tigray, amid ongoing peace talks in the Republic of South Africa, which are now entering the 5th day.

According to The Economist, the Tigray forces had lost substantively to the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] and the Eritrean troops who have intensified the crackdown in Tigray, leading to calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the region.

“Ethiopia’s peace talks may be overtaken by battlefield advances [as] Government forces [are] closing on Mekelle, Tigray’s capital," the highly reputable publication noted without giving many details about the latest situation in the Horn of Africa nation.

But Getachew Reda, the official spokesperson of TPLF, who is currently representing the group in African Union-led mediation in South Africa, dismissed the claims, adding that it was being churned out by the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

While faulting the tabloid, Reda, a former Information Minister, noted that The Economist "has fallen into this outrageous claim". He maintained that all important and strategic towns in Tigray are under the firm control of the group which has been fighting with federal troops for 24 months.

"Strange as it may sound though, many, including Regime officials, seem to have accepted the false claim as incontrovertible fact. Some people are asking us with poker faces that the Mekelle airport is already in the Regime’s hands," noted that spokesperson.

"What does it take for the likes of the Economist and company to realize that the fighting the closest to Mekelle is being fought in Korem, a good 160 km away from the capital? Not that it matters but that many including otherwise credible media outlets are operating in the evidence-free zone is very disconcerting indeed."

Talks are currently undergoing in South Africa under the leadership of AU envoy to the Horn of Africa Olusegun Obasanjo along with the former president of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta. No media is yet allowed to the negotiations where the government of Ethiopia is also involved.

Several people especially children and women have been killed since the war started in November 2020 with World Health Organization [WHO] chief Dr. Tedros Adhenom lamenting that humanitarian teams cannot access the most affected regions due to a blockade by Addis Ababa.

GAROWE ONLINE