The Ethiopian Army has stated this Thursday that its forces have managed to stop the large-scale offensive launched the day before by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in the north of the country, assuring that the clashes have left so far "enormous human and material losses" in the ranks of the "illegal group".
In a statement disseminated on social media, the first issued by the Armed Forces since the resumption of hostilities, the military command has emphasized that "the illegal TPLF has burned itself with the same fire it started" and has accused the Tigrayan group of "prioritizing war over peace".
The commander of the Ethiopian Army's Northeast Command, Assefa Chekol, has explained that the TPLF, "aligning itself with historical enemies of Ethiopia," launched an offensive on Tigray and other neighboring areas on Tuesday night. However, he has stressed that "the attack was repelled by the formidable strength" of the government troops, who would have managed to "seize various weapons and ammunition, as well as capture militiamen".
Assefa has added that "the TPLF and its allied groups have failed in their attempt to penetrate the area, loot, and displace the population" and has emphasized that "the rapid counteroffensive has inflicted enormous human and material losses" on the insurgent bloc.
According to his account, the alliance led by the TPLF opened several fronts from the Ahmara region, close to the border with Tigray, but "were forced to retreat to their places of origin." The Ethiopian command has estimated that "272 enemy combatants died and 260 were injured" among the losses suffered by the TPLF and its partners, in addition to noting that "many others were captured".
"The Army is monitoring the enemy's movements and carrying out well-planned counterattacks from the strategic positions it controls, thus executing a key mission to clear the operational area of enemy forces," Assefa has stated, who has also thanked the "local population" for their "support" to the military in the operational area.
The military statement comes in a context of growing international concern over the resurgence of violence, with critical messages directed at the TPLF from various actors, including the United States ambassador to Ethiopia, Ervin Massinga, who reproached the group for its new offensive and warned it that "embarking on a fight that is impossible to win" is something that "does not benefit the population at all".
For its part, the TPLF announced on Wednesday the start of a "defensive war" against the Ethiopian federal forces and stated that it was forced to take this step "after the intensification of the invasion through various methods by the autocratic and genocidal regime of the Prosperity Party (PP) of (Ethiopian Prime Minister) Abiy (Ahmed) against the people of Tigray," after weeks of escalation and increasing attacks.
In the early hours of the offensive, the Tigrinya forces and their allies took control of the three airports in the Tigray region, located in Mekelle, Axum, and Gambella, as confirmed by Getachew Reda, advisor to Abiy and former prominent leader of the TPLF. This advance has revived fears of a new high-intensity conflict, similar to that which took place between 2020 and 2022 and which left hundreds of thousands dead, before concluding with a peace agreement signed in 2022 in South Africa.
The pact, sealed in Pretoria, established the formation of a provisional government in Tigray accepted by the federal authorities, headed precisely by Getachew. However, at the beginning of May, the TPLF resumed control of the regional institutions, triggering a new wave of tensions and mutual accusations regarding the failure to comply with the commitments outlined in the agreement.