Ethiopians celebrate Adwa Victory Day, in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on March 2, 2021. Photo: VCG

Ethiopia said Wednesday that pro-government forces had recaptured the UNESCO World Heritage site Lalibela, which fell to Tigrayan fighters in August, as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's administration seeks to wrest back territory from the rebels. 

After the rebels claimed major territorial gains as part of an advance on the capital Addis Ababa, Abiy announced last week that he would head to the battlefield as fighting reportedly rages on at least three fronts in the country.

Since then, the government has announced that it has taken back control of several small towns, including Shewa Robit, around 220 kilometers northeast of the capital by road, and most recently Lalibela which is famed for its 12th-century rock-hewn churches.

Pro-Abiy forces have "captured the historical town of Lalibela and Lalibela international airport," the government communications service said in a statement read out on government-affiliated Walta TV.

The statement added that pro-government forces were also "marching on Sekota city" in the Amhara region in northern Ethiopia, even as fighting reportedly spreads to Debre Sina, a town located less than 200 kilometers northeast of Addis Ababa by road.

In a statement Wednesday night, the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) military command denied the government was scoring major gains, saying instead the rebels were "making territorial adjustments on our own terms" ahead of "strategic offensives."

The conflict, which erupted in November 2020, took a sharp turn around a month ago, when the TPLF claimed to have captured the strategic towns of Dessie and Kombolcha, located on a key highway to the capital.

AFP