Abiy announces the taking of a town after appearing from the front in the Ethiopian Afar region

The TPLF denounces an attack by the Army against the civilian population in Mekelle

MADRID, 26 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on Friday that the Army has seized control of the town of Asagita, in the Afar region, from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF) after reappearing and appearing from the front.

The president has thus stressed that the country’s forces are facing the TPLF, which he considers a “terrorist group”, with “determination” and “courage”, according to information from the Fana television network.

In addition, he explained that the rebel forces would be withdrawing from the areas taken so far, for which he has emphasized that “the enemy is not in a position to confront the national army.”

Abiy, who delegated his duties a few days ago to his deputy prime minister, Demeke Mekonnen, after moving to the front line, has confirmed in turn that the forces are now heading, “victorious”, towards Burka and Chifra. “The spirits are great. Today we will take Chifra and Burka. We will continue fighting until the freedom of Ethiopia is guaranteed again,” he said in statements to the aforementioned chain.

“What we want to see is an Ethiopia that emanates from our sacrifices (…) and we are sure that we will achieve it with a victory. The people are with us,” he insisted before acknowledging that the “Ethiopian brothers are doing everything that they can so their voices are heard. ” “Academics too,” he said.

For this reason, he explained, his duty is “to be in the front line leading the forces to guarantee their success.” “We will continue to reap great victories. We will win (…) and we will transfer a prosperous and free country to our children. It is what we have come to do and it is what we will do,” he added.

However, the TPLF has been skeptical about his move to the front line, insisting that his forces “have no idea which front he is in charge of.”

Abiy, who was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for the peace agreement with Eritrea, had stated late Monday that he would join the Army to defend the country “from internal and external enemies”, while appealed to Ethiopians to join the Armed Forces in addressing the advances in TPLF.

This same Friday, the TPLF spokesman, Getachew Reda, denounced a drone attack against a neighborhood in the town of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region. In a message spread through his Twitter account, he regretted that it was another attack against the civilian population in the area. “They are desperate movements of a desperate regime on the brink of the abyss. Tigray must prevail!”

The conflict in Ethiopia began on November 4, 2020 when Abiy ordered a military offensive in retaliation for the attack on the Army base in Mekelle after months of tensions between the TPLF and the central government over the postponement of the parliamentarians, finally held. in June and in which Abiy achieved a landslide victory against calls for a boycott and a lack of voting in several areas – including Tigray – due to insecurity.

However, the TPLF made important advances in June that allowed it to recover Mekelle, after which Abiy announced a unilateral ceasefire citing humanitarian reasons, rejected by the group, which expanded its offensive to the adjacent regions of Amhara and Afar, raising fears a spread of the war to the rest of the country.