By: Ollus Ndomu
As the rest of the country focused on the Monday, June 21, parliamentary elections, a heavy fire exchange between rebels and federal troops broke out Tuesday in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray.
The rebel group, Tigray Defence Force (TDF) told BBC that its forces had seized several areas within the region, a claim federal Ethiopian army refuted, describing it as fake news.
Somali Region News said yesterday’s fire exchange was the deadliest since last November, when Prime Minister Dr Ahmed Abiy declared victory in the conflict.
The Tigray conflict which broke out late last year after the Ethiopian federal government accused TDF of attacking its forces, has killed several thousand and displaced millions of civilians.
A recent UN-backed estimate said five million Tigrayians need food adding that over 350,000 are living in famine conditions.
Tuesday’s fire exchange came amidst the ongoing ballots count from Monday’s general election.
TDF spokesman Gebre GebreTsadiq said his forces had launched the attack last week targeting several towns, an operation he said had destroyed military vehicles and captured a few soldiers.
Meanwhile, Army spokesman Colonel Getnet confirmed there was fire exchange on Tuesday but dismissed the claim saying there had been no capturing of towns or soldiers.
“While the Ethiopian government was busy with the national elections and the GERD [Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam] issues, the terrorist TPLF [a key part of the TDF], along with its young recruits, was actively involved in terrorist activities,” he said.
Getnet further said operations were underway to capture TDF leaders in Tigray region where elections could not take place due to the growing security instability.
