Tigrayan forces retake key town, residents say

NAIROBI, Kenya－Tigray rebels recaptured the north Ethiopian town of Lalibela on Sunday, said residents to Agence France-Presse, 11 days after Ethiopian forces said they had retaken control.

The announcement marks another dramatic twist in the 13-month-old conflict that has killed thousands of people and triggered a deep humanitarian crisis in the north of Africa's second most populous nation.

Tigrayan fighters "are in the town center, there's no fighting", said a resident reached by telephone on Sunday afternoon.

"Yes, they came back. They are already here," said a second resident, adding that they appeared to have come from the east, in the direction of Woldiya.

The military leadership of rebel group Tigray People's Liberation Front, or TPLF, said in a statement shared with some media that they had launched "comprehensive counter-offensives" in numerous locations, including along the road linking Gashena and Lalibela.

On Sunday evening, the TPLF added that it had "recaptured Gashena and its surrounding (area) and… has captured Lalibela airport and Lalibela town".

The government did not immediately respond to AFP's requests for comment.

Lalibela, 650 kilometers north of the capital Addis Ababa, is home to a UNESCO world heritage site of 11 medieval monolithic cave churches hewed into red rock and a key pilgrimage site for Ethiopian Christians.

Communications have been cut in the conflict zone and access for journalists is restricted, making it difficult to verify the claims.

But in a tweet late on Saturday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office said he had "headed to the front again" and forces under his leadership had captured several strategic locations in Afar and Amhara, including the towns of Arjo, Fokisa and Boren.

Critical situation

The conflict of more than 13 months has plunged 9.4 million people "into a critical situation of food assistance" in the regions of Tigray, Afar and Amhara, said the United Nations.

On Sunday, Sudan denied accusations from some Ethiopian news reports of supporting the TPLF.

"Sudan controls all of its internationally recognized territories and borders with neighboring Ethiopia, and has never, and will never, allow its use for any aggressions," said Sudan's foreign ministry in a statement on Sunday.

Agencies - Xinhua