Ethiopia ‘destroys Tigray rebels’ coming from Sudan

ETHIOPIA military says it has “destroyed” a group of about 320 rebels trying to enter the conflict-hit northern region of Tigray from neighbouring Sudan.

“Some of them died of thirst on the road, some were captured, and those who refused to surrender were destroyed by the army,” Brig Gen Tesfaye Ayalew said in a briefing broadcast on state-owned TV.

The conflict in Tigray is in its seventh month – it erupted when Ethiopia’s government launched an offensive to oust the region’s then ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The party had had a massive fallout with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed over political changes to the country’s ethnically based federal system – though the TPLF’s capture of federal military bases in Tigray was the catalyst for the invasion.

Mr Abiy, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, declared that the conflict was over at the end of November, but fighting has continued.

Thousands of people have been killed and around 1.7 million have fled their homes, tens of thousands of whom have sought refuge in neighbouring Sudan.

According to Brig Gen Tesfaye, the fighters, who tried to enter Ethiopia via the Tigrayan town of Humera, had been making a bid to reach their party leaders.

Weapons, satellite telephones, radios and medicine were captured, which were intended for them, he said.

He also alleged the rebels carried a secret document detailing a military deal reached with some generals in Sudan, which has previously denied accusations that it is helping forces in Tigray.

Sudan’s government has not commented on these recent allegations.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-47639452?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=609ff04fcc504802f38e8d39%26Zimbabwe%20high%20court%20forces%20out%20chief%20justice%262021-05-15T16%3A22%3A51.567Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:1f7fa358-f1f3-4b7b-a851-2d6dac0f4d48&pinned_post_asset_id=609ff04fcc504802f38e8d39&pinned_post_type=share