The government communication office in the Amhara region of the island said that the Ethiopian army regained control of the city of Lalibela in the Amhara region (in the north of the country), while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi began this morning, Wednesday, a visit to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
The control of the city of Lalibela comes today, after the battles between the army and the Tigray Liberation Front, after the Ethiopian army on Tuesday sent large reinforcements to control the Amhara region, which is witnessing intense battles and mutual shelling.
Al-Jazeera correspondent in the "Burka" front - which was recently taken over by the Afar special forces (forces belonging to the Afar region that support the federal army) - stated that the Ethiopian army forces pushed with large reinforcements to fight a decisive battle with the aim of controlling the town of Bati in Amhara region.
The reinforcements included fighters, machine guns and mechanisms that crossed the town of Casa Gueta, 20 km from Bati.
The reporter added that the "Casa Gita" front witnessed an exchange of artillery shelling between the government forces and the militants of the Tigray Front, at a time when the confrontations were intensifying in Amhara on several fronts.
On the other hand, the Tigray Liberation Front - which is fighting on more than one front - downplayed the Ethiopian army's statements, describing them as maneuvers.
In a remarkable development, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said today that the Chinese minister - who is currently visiting Ethiopia - affirmed his confidence and support for the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and his country's refusal to interfere in Ethiopian internal affairs.
call to surrender
In a related context, Abi Ahmed appeared in a new video he filmed from the fighting fronts, in which he said, "From here we are planning a strategy to defeat those who remain. We will adopt military technology to reduce human losses. The enemy aims to break the dignity of the people and the country, but it will not succeed."
"My message to the enemies is that you have fought the battle with the innocent, and you are sacrificing the youth of Tigray," he added.
Abi Ahmed called on the Tigray youth to surrender, arguing that the government was forced into this war and that it would nevertheless win.
The advance on the Mille front in the Afar region by the terrorist forces which was aimed at chocking off the entire country from the main corridor for goods entering the country has successfully been thwarted with further advances being made by Government forces.
(4/5)
— Office of the Prime Minister - Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) November 30, 2021
The Prime Minister's statements came after his forces announced the control of the town of Shivra, and thus completed control of the Afar region, and headed to the neighboring Amhara region.
On the other hand, a spokesman for the Tigray People's Liberation Front described the government's military victory as a "farce" interspersed with "ridiculous maneuvers".
The war broke out in Ethiopia a year ago when the authorities sent troops to the Tigray border region with Sudan to overthrow the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, in a move that Addis Ababa said was to respond to attacks carried out by the front’s elements on army camps, then the conflict developed into a war that resulted in thousands of deaths and the displacement of two million people. The conflict threatens hundreds of thousands of people with starvation, according to the United Nations.