Tigrayan forces say they have seized strategic town in Ethiopia’s Amhara region | Reuters
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October 30, 202111:16 AM WATLast Updated 2 hours ago
Africa
Tigrayan forces say they have seized strategic town in Ethiopia’s Amhara region
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Members of the Amhara Militia patrol on the streets in Dessie town, Amhara Region, Ethiopia.
REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Members of the Amhara Militia patrol on the streets in Dessie town, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, October 9, 2021.
REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Members of the Amhara Militia patrol on the streets in Dessie town, Amhara Region, Ethiopia.
REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
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1/2Members of the Amhara Militia patrol on the streets in Dessie town, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, October 9, 2021.
REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
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ADDIS ABABA, Oct 30 (Reuters) – 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.
A school director in Dessie said he saw Ethiopian soldiers retreating from the town on Saturday morning towards Kombolcha and that power across town had
been off since Friday.
Another resident of Dessie also said the town had no power and that the federal army had left.
Both said they had heard Tigrayan fighters were in town
but had not seen them.
Both residents spoke on condition of anonymity.
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, 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.
Thousands of people have been killed and 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 neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions.
In mid-October, the Tigrayan forces said the military had launched a ground offensive to push them out of Amhara.
The military said on Thursday there was
heavy fighting there, but accused the Tigrayan forces of starting it.
Reporting by Addis Ababa newsroom Editing by Mark Heinrich, Alison Williams and Frances Kerry
Our Standards:
The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Tigrayan forces seize strategic town in Ethiopia’s Amhara region
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