Rebels from the Ethiopian region of Tigray, in the grip of an armed conflict, seized Lalibela on Thursday (August 5th), according to residents.

The site, located in the neighboring region of Amhara, is famous for its rock-hewn churches and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

"They arrived in the afternoon and there was no fighting. There were no security forces in the area. The TPLF (Front for the Liberation of the People of Tigray) forces are in the city now, "one of them told AFP.

The authorities have not yet confirmed the capture of Lalibela by the rebels.

>> To read also: "Conflict in Tigray: a political and humanitarian impasse for the Ethiopian power"

"A testament to Ethiopian civilization"

The United States called on the rebels to "protect this cultural heritage", stressing that Lalibela was "a testament to Ethiopian civilization".

Clashes have raged in Tigray since November 2020, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to overthrow the TPLF, the regional party that long dominated national politics before coming to power in 2018.

The head of government, Nobel Peace Prize 2019, justified this intervention by the need to respond to the repeated attacks of this organization against the army camps.

But despite the promise of a quick victory, the war dragged on, taking a new turn in June when forces loyal to the TPLF recaptured Tigray's capital, Mekele, and forced the Ethiopian army to retreat.

Since then, this movement has led armed offensives in neighboring regions, east in Afar and south in Amhara.

Soldiers and militiamen mobilized en masse in parts of the latter region to repel the advance of the rebels but, according to several residents of Lalibela contacted by AFP, their town fell Thursday without opposing resistance.

TPLF fighters "were dancing and having fun" in the town's main square, one said.

"Most people are leaving the city for remote areas," said a third resident of Lalibela, adding that he was hiding in his house with his family.

"This time, that's enough!" Protested Amhara Vice-President Fanta Mandefro. "We have to defend our people."

Call for a ceasefire

The TPLF's foray outside Tigray drew much criticism abroad.

The UN again this week called on the belligerents to end hostilities.

A call also renewed by Washington on Thursday.

American diplomacy has notably urged the Tigrayan rebels to withdraw their forces from neighboring regions, while pleading more broadly for "immediate and without preconditions" discussions for a ceasefire.

"I hope that in these circumstances the international community will start to wake up and see this organization for what it is: a terrorist organization that has taken over the well-being of the people of Tigray to serve its ferocious people. objectives, "said Billene Seyoum, spokesman for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, adding to the press that more than 300,000 people had been displaced by the recent fighting in these two regions.

The government has repeatedly accused Western leaders of turning a blind eye to the crimes committed by the TPLF.

The TPLF has assured that it does not intend to extend its territorial control beyond Tigray but want to "liberate" the south and west of Tigray.

Forces from Amhara, which borders southern Tigray, have taken advantage of the conflict to annex fertile areas in western Tigray.

The Amhara believe that the TPLF seized it illegally in the early 1990s.

With AFP

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