Ethiopian gov’t-aligned group claims close to full control of Tigray region

Claim comes as violence flares across northern Ethiopia, provoking diplomatic spats amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation for millions.

Eritrea severs diplomatic ties with Ethiopia in row over Tigray

An armed group aligned with the Ethiopian government has said it is close to gaining full control of the conflict-stricken northern Tigray region.

The commander of the Tigray Peace Forces (TPF) declared on social media late on Thursday that Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces had been wiped out.

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The claim, which could not be immediately verified by Al Jazeera, came after fighting resumed between Ethiopian federal forces – including the TPF – and an opposition alliance led by the TPLF in September.

Residents told the Reuters news agency on Friday that Ethiopian ⁠government forces were closing on the region’s capital Mekelle.

TPLF chairperson Debretsion Gebremichael acknowledged on Thursday that federal forces had occupied some ⁠parts of the region but said his forces would counter-attack “in due course”.

Pro-government forces have made quick advances into Tigray since fighting erupted last week. The return of the hostilities follows the apparent collapse of a 2022 peace deal that ended the war between the federal government and forces from the Tigray region.

Seven armed and political groups announced an alliance on September 20 aimed at removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration and establishing an inclusive transitional government.

The African Union reported last month that Tigrayan forces had seized airports in Mekelle, Axum and Shire and detained federal personnel, disrupting civilian air services.

Fighting has also spread from southern Tigray to the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions.

The remarks from the commander of the Tigray Peace Forces “shed light on a new phase of this conflict,” reported Al Jazeera Arabic Ethiopia Bureau Chief Mohammed Taha Tawakel.

The federal army is clearly providing full support to the TPF, yet the original TPLF still holds several towns, he said, but maintains a strong link with Eritrea along more than 800 kilometres of frontier.

“That raises the prospect of the conflict increasingly becoming an internal struggle among Tigrayans themselves,” Tawakel noted.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali faces a new armed alliance that includes the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and six other groups [File: AP]

Ethiopian military officials have accused Eritrea, Egypt and Sudan of supporting the Tigrayan-led fighting alliance. That has led to tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt.

The African Union has called for “maximum restraint” between the three countries and for them to “refrain from actions or statements that could further escalate tensions and undermine regional peace”.

Eritrea and Egypt have denied accusations that they are backing efforts to destabilise Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, the conflict is provoking a worsening humanitarian situation in Tigray.

”The region is home to between six and seven million people, living amid electricity cuts, internet blackouts and a total lack of communications,” Tawakel said.

Some civilians, fearing the fighting could move into major urban centres, have already begun fleeing to Amhara and Afar, he reported.

Aid agencies, including the United Nations, have managed to relocate some operations to newly secured areas, he added, in an effort to maintain a minimum level of humanitarian access.

就在埃塞俄比亚北部暴力冲突爆发之际，这一说法引发了外交争端，数百万人的人道主义危机也在不断恶化。

厄立特里亚因提格雷问题与埃塞俄比亚断绝外交关系

与埃塞俄比亚政府结盟的一个武装组织表示，他们即将完全控制饱受冲突蹂躏的北部提格雷地区。

提格雷和平部队（TPF）指挥官周四晚些时候在社交媒体上宣布，提格雷人民解放阵线（TPLF）部队已被全歼。

列表 1/3 埃塞俄比亚战事升级：最新进展如何？

（共3条）埃塞俄比亚指责地区竞争对手，冲突蔓延风险上升（第2条）

埃塞俄比亚北部冲突扩大，亚的斯亚贝巴发生3起爆炸事件（列表3/3）

半岛电视台无法立即核实这一说法。此前，埃塞俄比亚联邦军队（包括提格雷人民解放阵线）与提格雷人民解放阵线领导的反对派联盟于 9 月再次爆发冲突。

居民周五告诉路透社，埃塞俄比亚政府军正在逼近该地区首府默克莱。

提格雷人民解放阵线主席德布雷齐翁·格布雷米凯尔周四承认，联邦军队占领了该地区的部分地区，但他表示，他的部队将在“适当的时候”进行反击。

自上周冲突爆发以来，亲政府武装迅速向提格雷地区推进。此次战事重燃，源于2022年结束联邦政府与提格雷地区武装之间战争的和平协议明显破裂。

9月20日，七个武装和政治团体宣布结成联盟，旨在推翻总理阿比·艾哈迈德的政府，并建立一个包容各方的过渡政府。

非洲联盟上个月报告称，提格雷武装占领了默克莱、阿克苏姆和希雷的机场，并拘留了联邦人员，扰乱了民用航空服务。

战斗也从提格雷南部蔓延到邻近的阿姆哈拉州和阿法尔州。

半岛电视台阿拉伯语埃塞俄比亚分社社长穆罕默德·塔哈·塔瓦基勒报道称，提格雷和平部队指挥官的讲话“揭示了这场冲突的新阶段”。

他说，联邦军队显然正在全力支持提格雷人民解放阵线（TPF），但原提格雷人民解放阵线（TPLF）仍然控制着几个城镇，并且与厄立特里亚在超过 800 公里的边境线上保持着紧密的联系。

“这增加了冲突日益演变为提格雷人内部斗争的可能性，”塔瓦克尔指出。

埃塞俄比亚总理阿比·艾哈迈德·阿里面临着包括提格雷人民解放阵线（提人阵）和其他六个组织在内的新武装联盟。[图片：美联社]

埃塞俄比亚军方官员指责厄立特里亚、埃及和苏丹支持提格雷人领导的战斗联盟。这导致埃塞俄比亚、厄立特里亚和埃及之间互相驱逐外交官。

非洲联盟呼吁这三个国家保持“最大限度的克制”，并要求它们“避免采取任何可能进一步加剧紧张局势和破坏地区和平的行动或发表任何可能破坏地区和平的言论”。

厄立特里亚和埃及否认了有关它们支持破坏埃塞俄比亚稳定的指控。

与此同时，冲突导致提格雷的人道主义局势日益恶化。

“该地区居住着六七百万人，他们生活在断电、断网和完全缺乏通讯的环境中，”塔瓦克尔说。

据他报道，一些平民担心战火会蔓延到主要城市中心，已经开始逃往阿姆哈拉州和阿法尔州。

他还补充说，包括联合国在内的援助机构已设法将一些行动转移到新近安全的地区，以努力维持最低限度的人道主义准入。