Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday returned to his office in Addis Ababa after spending two weeks leading federal troops on the war front against Tigray rebels.
“PM @AbiyAhmedAli momentarily returned to the office following successful completion of the first phase of ‘Operation for National Unity in Diversity’,” his office tweeted.
A raging war broke out last year in Ethiopia between government troops and forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which has left thousands dead, and many more displaced.
Abiy ordered the military offensive against Tigrayan forces on November 4, 2020, after accusing them of attacking a military base.
He had announced going to the war front after the rebels made spectacular advances and threatened to invade and capture Addis Ababa.
“We have to push the scattered enemy to surrender. We have to protect our environment cautiously more than ever before. Searches and surveillances shall be strengthened.
“Ethiopia is safeguarded by her gallant children. Ethiopia might be tested. But it was impossible to defeat Ethiopia. Ethiopia will not be defeated today and tomorrow too. The name Ethiopia is always associated with victory” the PM said in a statement.
The Premier further stressed the need to rebuild what was damaged by the enemy, rehabilitate the displaced and expedite good governance measures.
TPLF fighters had advanced to within 200 kilometers (124 miles) of Addis Ababa.
But since the prime minister’s deployment, according to government claims, many strategic areas and major towns have been liberated from rebel control.
It includes the entire Afar regional state, where the TPLF made incursions in a bid to cut off Ethiopia’s main arterial road to Djibouti, through which the majority of the Horn of Africa nation’s import-export passes.
Other liberated areas in the Amhara regional state include the UNESCO-registered world heritage town of Lalibella, Gashena, Showa Robit, Debre Sina, Kemissie, Dessie, and Kombolcha, among others.
The TPLF, which governed the country for nearly three decades before being deposed in 2018, however, say they have been on a strategic retreat.
“We left North Shoa, Kombolcha, and Dessie as part of our plan,” a TPLF spokesperson said on Twitter”.
“Things are going according to our plan. The rest is just a circus …” it added.
MG/as/APA