Tigrayan rebel forces seize strategic town in Ethiopia

Members of the Afar Special Forces prepare their weapons next to a damaged house in the outskirts of the village of Bisober, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, on December 9, 2020. PHOTO | AFP

MEKELLE, Ethiopia - Rebellious Tigrayan forces said on Saturday they had seized the strategic town of Dessie in Ethiopia's Amhara region where tens of thousands of ethnic Amharas have sought refuge from an escalation in fighting.

The fighters pushed Ethiopian government forces from Dessie and were headed towards the town of Kombolcha, Getachew Reda, spokesperson for the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), told Reuters by satellite phone from an undisclosed location.

He said Tigrayan forces had captured numerous Ethiopian soldiers.

Legesse Tulu, the Ethiopian government spokesperson, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters could not independently verify the TPLF's account of developments.

The capture of Dessie would be a strategic gain for the Tigrayan fighters against the central government forces who are trying to dislodge them from the Amhara region.

The large town is some 385 km (240 miles) from the capital of Addis Ababa and is the furthest south in Amhara that the TPLF has reached since pushing into the region in July.

War broke nearly a year ago between federal troops and the TPLF, which had ruled Ethiopia for three decades but is now the ruling party of just the region. Thousands of people have been killed more than 2 million people have been forced to flee.

Tigrayan forces were initially beaten back, but recaptured most of the region in July and pushed into the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions, displacing hundreds of thousands more.

In mid-October, the Tigrayan forces said the military had launched a ground offensive to push them out of Amhara. The military acknowledged on Thursday there was heavy fighting there but accused the Tigrayan forces of starting it.