Rebels claim military gains in Ethiopia’s restive Tigray region

TPLF on Monday said Tigrayan forces controlled Korem, a town 170 kilometres (105 miles) south of the capital Mekelle.

Forces from Ethiopia’s northern restive Tigray region said on Monday that they were pushing south and had recaptured a town from government forces, underscoring their determination to keep fighting until the region’s prewar borders are restored. The Reuters news agency was unable to independently confirm the claim because communication links to the region are down. Conflict erupted in Tigray eight months ago after Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent government forces to quell a rebellion by a powerful ethnic faction, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).