The Tigrayan rebel forces on Thursday accused the Ethiopian and Eritrean government forces of launching an attack in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray, reported The Reuters.
“The enemy, having already relocated a massive military force to Eritrea, has now begun a joint campaign with the foreign invading force of Eritrea to brutalize and exterminate the people of Tigray,” the rebels’ military command said in a statement.
Getachew Reda, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) spokesperson, said both nations’ forces had attacked rebel forces in Tigray’s Adayabo region.
The conflict between the federal forces and rebel troops resumed last week after a five-month lull, with clashes on the ground and air raids over Tigray. The latest attacks had been concentrated around the southeastern border of Tigray, with the rebels pushing into the Amhara and Afar regions.
But, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government on Wednesday accused the Tigrayan rebel groups of launching an invasion into parts of western Tigray, and other areas west of the initial clashes.
On Thursday, the Ethiopain government said TPLF attacks had further continued to intensify.
In a statement, the Government Communication Service said innocent civilians are being killed in the attacks, many are being displaced and property is being destroyed. It said that the country’s national defence forces are defending this invasion with full preparedness and resolve. It also accused the TPLF of diverting food aid meant for hungry Tigrayan people.
According to the United Nations, almost all of Tigray’s 5.5 million people need food aid but the latest round of violence has halted all humanitarian convoys.
The conflict in Africa’s second most populous country has killed thousands, displaced millions and pushed parts of Tigray into famine.
Eritrea fought a war against Ethiopia, then run by the TPLF, in 1998-2000 and has remained an opponent of the TPLF. It sent troops into Tigray to support the Ethiopian forces as soon as fighting broke out in November 2020.
