The rebel authorities in Tigray have accused the Ethiopian federal army of launching a “large scale offensiveagainst this region of northern Ethiopia, after nearly five months of truce.
These accusations could not be verified by an independent source, Tigray being largely cut off from the rest of the country and the Ethiopian government did not immediately respond to questions from AFP. But the Ethiopian federal army on Tuesday, August 23 accused the Tigrayan rebels of “defame“by accusing him of”move to their positions» or «bomb“.
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The Ethiopian Federal Forceslaunched an offensive early this (Wednesday) morning around 05:00 (02:00 GMT), we are defending our positions“, told AFP a spokesman for the rebel authorities in Tigray, Getachew Reda, interviewed from Nairobi. On Twitter, Getachew Reda said that a “full-scale offensive” had been launched against the “positions on the southern frontof the Tigrayan rebels.
If confirmed, these fights would mark the end of a truce decided at the end of March and so far respected. The tone had risen in recent days between the federal government and the Tigrayan rebels, each accusing the other of preparing to resume hostilities, despite repeated commitments by both sides over the past two months in favor of negotiations which have still not not started yet. The conflict in Tigray began in November 2020, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the army there to dislodge the authorities in the region who had challenged his authority for several years and whom he accused of having attacked military bases there.