NAIROBI, 14 December 2021, (TON): Tigray rebels recaptured the north Ethiopian town of Lalibela, home to a UNESCO world heritage site, local residents told AFP, 11 days after Ethiopian forces said they had re-taken control.

The announcement marks another dramatic twist in the 13-month-old conflict that has killed thousands of people and triggered a deep humanitarian crisis in the north of Africa’s second most populous nation.

A resident reached by telephone said “Tigrayan fighters “are in the town center, there’s no fighting.”

A second resident said “yes they came back. They are already here.”

He added that they appeared to have come from the east, in the direction of Woldiya.

“The population, most of the people are scared. Some are running away. Most of the people, they already left because there might be a revenge. We expressed our happiness before when the junta left.”

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group’s military leadership said in a statement shared with pro-TPLF media they had launched “comprehensive counter-offensives” in numerous locations including along the road linking Gashena and Lalibela.