Rebellious Tigrayan forces have recaptured the Ethiopian town of Lalibela less than two weeks after the military and its allies took control of it as part of a broader offensive that pushed back Tigrayan forces on multiple fronts.
Lalibela in the Amhara region bordering the northern region of Tigray, well known for its churches hewn from single lumps of rock, has been designated a UN World Heritage site.
One of the witnesses who spoke to Reuters said that Amhara forces, who are allies of the Ethiopian government, began leaving Lalibela on Saturday night.
"The last batch left this morning," the witness said.
"We heard gunshots from a distance last night but the Tigrayan forces recaptured Lalibela without firing guns in the town," the hotel receptionist said.
A second witness told Reuters on Sunday that residents had begun fleeing the town.
"We panicked, we never saw this coming," they said.
"TPLF forces are now patrolling the town wearing their uniforms," the witness said.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group's military leadership said in a statement shared with pro-TPLF media they had launched "comprehensive counter-offensives" in numerous locations including along the road linking Gashena and Lalibela.
Church of St George, Lalibela Source: Getty
"Our forces first defended and then carried out counter-offensives against the huge force that was attacking on the Gashena front and surrounding areas and managed to achieve glorious and astonishing victory," it said.
On Sunday evening, the TPLF, added that "after destroying and dispersing the massive enemy force stationed in and around Gashena" it had "recaptured Gashena and its surrounding area and has captured Lalibela airport and Lalibela town".
The government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lalibela, 645 kilometres north of Addis Ababa, is home to 11 medieval monolithic cave churches hewn into the red rock and is a key pilgrimage site for Ethiopian Christians.
Massive displacement
Communications have been cut in the conflict zone and access for journalists was restricted, which has made it difficult to verify the claims.
But in a tweet late on Saturday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali's office said he had "headed to the front again" and forces under his leadership had captured several strategic locations in Afar and Amhara including the towns of Arjo, Fokisa and Boren.
The war broke out in November 2020 when Prime Minister Abiy sent troops into Ethiopia's northernmost region of Tigray to topple the TPLF after months of seething tensions with the group that had dominated politics for three decades before he took office.
He said the move was in response to attacks on army camps by the TPLF, and vowed a swift victory.
But the rebels mounted a shock comeback, recapturing most of Tigray by June before advancing into the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar.
Fears of a rebel march on Addis Ababa 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 said the city was secure.
The fighting has displaced more than two million and driven hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions, according to UN estimates, with reports of massacres and mass rapes by both sides.
But intense diplomatic efforts led by the African Union to try to reach a ceasefire have failed to achieve any visible breakthrough.
The more than 13 months of conflict have plunged 9.4 million people "into a critical situation of food assistance" in the regions of Tigray, Afar and Amhara, the United Nations said.
Tigrayan forces had taken control of the town in early August, as part of a push into Amhara territory that began in July.
But the tide turned against the Tigrayans at the end of November after they had threatened to march on the capital.
The government declared a state of emergency and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed went to the frontlines to direct an offensive.
On 1 December, the Ethiopian military and Amhara forces recaptured Lalibela, a site of enormous religious significance.
The year-old conflict between the federal government and the leadership of Tigray has killed thousands of civilians, forced millions to flee their homes, and made more than nine million people dependent on food aid.
Ethiopian state television has also published pictures of what it described as the looting of a hospital in the town of Dessie by Tigrayan forces.
Footage showed empty shelves and boxes of medicines and equipment destroyed or strewn on the floor.
