MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th December, 2021) Ethiopia's armed forces pushed rebels back into their northern stronghold region of Tigray, clearing the neighboring Amhara and Afar provinces, the government announced Friday.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which has been fighting government forces since a military conflict broke out in November 2020, said this week that it would pull back to bring forth an end to the bloodshed.
"The Ethiopian Defense Forces have successfully completed liberating TPLF occupied areas in East Amhara and Afar regions. The government ordered the forces to vigilantly remain in areas under our control in these fronts," a press statement read.
The government said it would not send troops into TPLF-controlled Tigray to conserve resources and avoid further accusations of genocide but noted that it stands ready to order its forces to go into the region, whenever deemed necessary.
