Ethiopia: Tigray releases over 4,000 soldiers

December 1, 2020 Elwin Mandowa

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The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in Ethiopia’s Tigray region has announced the release of over 4,000 soldiers who had been held captive.

TPLF officials said they had been part of the army’s northern command but were detained when Tigrayan troops attacked a federal military base.

The development comes after the TPLF officials disputed a declaration by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister that the military had won the conflict. They have vowed to fight on despite the claim.

Before the war started, the military deployed troops in the north of Ethiopia who were drawn v from different regions of the country.

Thousands of non-Tigrayans subsequently found themselves in what was enemy territory when Tigrayan fighters attacked the main base triggering the war.

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They were detained by the TPLF but have now been freed. The Ethiopian state media has confirmed that at least 3,000 soldiers had been released. It has also been rumoured that some were Tigrayans who had refused to fight.

Meanwhile Ethiopia’s Human Rights Commission has condemned ethnic profiling of Tigrayan people since the conflict begun.

It has also urged the government to restore telecommunication links to the region.