Tigray People's Liberation Front Accused Of Killing 100 Ethiopian Youth

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JAKARTA - The Ethiopian government has accused fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) of killing more than 100 youths in the town of Kombolcha. The two sides claim control of the city in the country's Amhara region.

Reporting from Al Jazeera, Monday 1 November, the government said the youths were executed quickly by the group. The incident occurred during an hour-long gun battle in the city that had begun the night before.

"The international community should not turn a blind eye to such atrocities," the government communications service said on Twitter.

The TPLF did not immediately respond to the government's accusations, which came hours after a TPLF spokesman claimed the group had seized Kombolcha and its airport.

The government, however, has challenged rebel claims that the TPLF controls the town, some 380km (235 miles) north of the capital, Addis Ababa.

To note, war broke out in Tigray almost a year ago between the Ethiopian military and the TPLF, the political party that controls the region, killing thousands of people and forcing more than two million people to flee.

Tigrayan forces were initially repulsed, but recaptured most of the territory in July and pushed into neighboring Amhara and Afar, displacing hundreds of thousands more.

Some time ago, Tigrayan forces said the military had launched a ground offensive to push them out of Amhara. The military acknowledged on Thursday there was heavy fighting there, but accused Tigrayan's forces of starting it.