Sharjah24 – AFP: Ethiopian forces were waging a fresh battle Sunday to retake the strategic northern city of Dessie, residents said, hours after Tigrayan rebels claimed to have captured it.
The fall of Dessie to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on Saturday had marked a new step in its offensive in a nearly year-long war, after it retook most of Tigray from federal forces in June and expanded its presence into neighbouring regions.
But on Sunday, witnesses said renewed gun battles were under way in the city, with Ethiopian troops ordering residents to stay indoors, despite reportedly retreating a day earlier.
Much of northern Ethiopia is under a communications blackout and access for journalists is restricted, making battlefield claims difficult to verify independently.
"Soldiers told us they are fighting to take the city again... and told us no one should go out," said Mohammed, a Dessie resident who declined to give his second name.
Desta, a former waiter in Dessie who gave only his first name, said he saw soldiers fighting in the streets.
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