Tigray rebels retake Ethiopian heritage town of Lalibela

Unesco site is home to 11 medieval monolithic cave churches

An elderly Ethiopian pilgrim sits in front of Bet Giyorgis Church in Lalibela. It is one of eleven churches in Lalibela, built at the height of medieval Ethiopian civilization from the ninth to the 12Show more

Tigrayan rebels have recaptured the northern Ethiopian town of Lalibela, home to a Unesco world heritage site, 11 days after Ethiopian forces said they had retaken control.

It marks another twist in the 13-month-old conflict that has killed thousands of people and triggered a deep humanitarian crisis in the north of Africa's second most populous nation.

Residents told AFP that the Tigrayan rebels recaptured Lalibela on Sunday. They “are in the town centre, there is no fighting”, said one resident reached by telephone on Sunday afternoon.

“Yes they came back. They are already here,” said a second resident. The resident said fighters appeared to have come from the east, in the direction of Woldiya.

“The population, most of the people are scared," said the resident. "Some are running away. Most of the people, they already left because there might be revenge. We expressed our happiness before when the junta left.”

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 counteroffensives” in numerous locations, including along the road linking Gashena and Lalibela.

“Our forces first defended and then carried out counteroffensives against the huge force that was attacking on the Gashena front and surrounding areas and managed to achieve [a] glorious and astonishing victory,” the TPLF said.

On Sunday evening, the rebel group said “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 a request for comment, AFP reported.

Churches hewn into red rock

Lalibela, which lies 645 kilometres (400 miles) north of Addis Ababa, is home to 11 medieval monolithic cave churches hewn into the red rock and is an important pilgrimage site for Ethiopian Christians.

Communications have been cut in the conflict zone, but in a tweet late on Saturday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed'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 Mr Abiy sent troops into Ethiopia's northernmost region of Tigray to topple the TPLF after months of seething tension 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 including the US, France and the UK to urge their citizens to leave Ethiopia as soon as possible, although Mr Abiy's government said the city was secure.

The fighting has displaced more than two million people 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 UN said.