Tigray Rebels Retake Ethiopian Heritage Town Lalibela

On Sunday, Tigray rebels managed to recapture the north Ethiopian town of Lalibela, local residents reported, less than two weeks after government forces and their allies took control of the UNESCO World Heritage town.

"Tigrayan fighters are in the town center, there’s no fighting," a resident said.

“They came back. They’re already here,” said another.

Lalibela is home to 11 medieval rock-cut churches and is a site of pilgrimage for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group’s military leadership said in a statement shared with pro-TPLF media they had launched “widespread counter-offensives” in numerous locations, including along the road linking Gashena and Lalibela.

“Our forces first defended and then carried out counter-offensives against the massive force that was attacking the front at Gashena and the surrounding areas to achieve a glorious victory,” it said.

Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not respond to requests for comment on the reported recapture of the town.

One of the witnesses who spoke to Reuters said that special forces from the Amhara region and their fighter allies, both allies of the Ethiopian government, began leaving Lalibela on Saturday night.

"The last batch left this morning. We heard gunshots from a distance last night, but the Tigrayan forces recaptured Lalibela without firing guns in the town," said the witness, a hotel receptionist, by phone.

Military sources have told Al Jazeera that pro-government forces are advancing towards the city of Waldia – a stronghold of the TPLF.

Forces aligned with the TPLF had taken control of the town in early August.

But on December 1, Ethiopian troops and their Amhara regional allies recaptured the town.

That news was one of several reported gains on the battlefield against the Tigrayan forces, who had in November pushed south and threatened to march on Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

The year-long conflict between the federal government and the leadership of the northern region of Tigray has killed thousands of civilians, forced millions to flee their homes, and made more than nine million people dependent on food aid.

A second witness said that residents had begun fleeing the town. "We panicked; we never saw this coming. TPLF forces are now patrolling the town wearing their uniforms," the witness said.