Ethiopia's PM downplays 'risk of protracted insurgency' in Tigray mountains
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has dismissed claims by rebel forces in the northern Tigray region of mounting a guerrilla war against government troops.
The premier announced last week that government troops had "completed" the military operation launched against the heavily-armed rebels in the restive region.
The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner said federal troop had taken control of the regional capital Mekelle from the former local ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
TPLF leaders, however, said the rebels forces had retreated to strategic positions in surrounding mountains, and that fighting continued around Mekelle.
The prime minister once more dismissed those claims, insisting that the rebel forces had been "thoroughly defeated".
"The criminal clique pushed a patently false narrative that its fighters and supporters are battle-hardened and well-armed, posing the risk of protracted insurgency in the rugged mountains of Tigray," he said in a statement, adding, "It also claimed that it has managed to undertake strategic retreat with all its capability and regional government apparatus intact. The reality is the criminal clique is thoroughly defeated and in disarray, with insignificant capability to mount a protracted insurgency."
Media outlets have failed to verify claims by either side due to lack of access to the region.
However, two senior aid officials told Reuters over the weekend that looting and lawlessness meant the region was still too dangerous to dispatch convoys.
The United Nations and aid agencies are pressing for safe access to Tigray, which is home to more than 5 million people and where 600,000 relied on food aid even before the war.
The TPLF's decades-long domination over Ethiopian politics ended when the current Ethiopian premier came to power in 2018 and ended a protracted conflict with Ethiopia's northern neighbor.
Critics believe the Tigray operation could spill over and reignite conflicts with neighboring countries.
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