Ethiopia's armed forces have regained control of the city of Lalibela in the north of the country, the Ethiopian prime minister's office said on Wednesday.
Lalibela, famous for its stone-carved churches included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, was captured by militants from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in August.
"The historic town of Lalibela has been liberated and cleared off TPLF occupation," the office announced on Twitter.
The Ethiopian government and the TPLF, which dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades, have been locked in conflict over control of the north of the country since November 2020, when the central authorities accused the Tigray rebels of attacking a local state-owned military base.
The Ethiopian government launched an operation in Tigray with the support of neighboring Eritrea.
In the spring of 2021, Ethiopian authorities announced the withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Tigray. In June, the rebels took control of the administrative center of the region, Mekelle. Despite the government declaring an unconditional ceasefire, the rebels soon launched a new offensive, taking control of part of Tigray and invading the neighboring Amhara region. The Ethiopian parliament declared a six-month state of emergency throughout the country in early November as TPLF forces together with eight other factions, some of which are considered terrorist by Addis Ababa, advanced toward the Ethiopian capital.
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