Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Wednesday that he was returning to Addis Ababa from the battlefront after pro-government forces claimed major advances in their fight against Tigrayan rebels.
Africa Today News, New York had on Monday reported that the government had stated that pro-Abiy forces had retaken the strategic towns of Dessie and Kombolcha, the latest turn in the 13-month-old war.
After the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group reported reasonable territorial gains as part of a march towards Addis Ababa, Abiy announced last month that he would head to the battlefront, handing over his regular duties to his deputy.
Since then, state media has broadcast images of a uniformed Abiy, a former lieutenant colonel in the military, as fighting reportedly raged on at least three fronts.
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On Wednesday, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner said: ‘I am returning to the office as I have completed the first phase (of the conflict).’
‘The struggle isn’t yet finished. We have areas that haven’t been freed. We should offer a long-lasting solution to make sure the enemy that has tested us doesn’t become a danger to Ethiopia again,’ he warned in a statement published on social media.
In recent days, the government has announced the recapture of several small towns, including the UNESCO World Heritage site of Lalibela which is famed for its 12th-century rock-hewn churches.
The TPLF has dismissed the government’s claims, saying the rebels were making strategic withdrawals and remained undefeated.
Fears of a rebel march on Addis Ababa have prompted countries such as the United States, France and Britain to urge their citizens to leave Ethiopia as soon as possible, although Abiy’s government says the city is secure.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK