Tigray forces deny claims they're backed by foreign fighters

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The Tigray Defense Forces [TDF] now says it has never collaborated with foreign fighters in the ongoing tussle with the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF], even as the war between the two factions escalated in the north.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed recently claimed that TDF, formerly TPLF, was getting assistance from foreign fighters, but he did not disclose the team. The ENDF has also been benefiting from the support given by Eritrea and Amhara regional forces.

Getachew Reda, the spokesperson of TDF, dismissed the claims as untrue, adding that the PM was losing ground and that he was "slowly going mad". According to him, the TDF was fighting alone to displace ENDF and even to take over Addis Ababa.

"Abiy’s latest claim:foreigners-black& white, to boot-did fight alongside our forces in the Wollo front. Many people are adamant it’s proof positive that he is clinically insane. He is of course. It’s however insanity with the method," he said.

"Read in conjunction with his spiritual Guru, Daniel Kibret’s incendiary remarks about Wolloyes’ complicity with the ‘TPLF forces’ in bringing about his ignominious defeat in the Wollo front, Abiy is insinuating that ‘ex-pat terrorists’, probably Muslims, took part in the fight. He is not blaming TPLF; he’s blaming Wollo."

The TDF spokesperson also insisted that the ENDF under the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was committing genocide in Tigray, adding that the Ethiopian people will not be moved in the coming months.

Earlier, the defiant spokesperson had insisted that there was no fighting going on at Kombolcha and Dessie in the country. Initially, the federal government of Ethiopia had condemned the TDF of reportedly taking over the two major towns in Amhara.

"He will blame the whole Ethiopian population for not being stupid enough to commit collective suicide for the sake of his delusional adventures. He needs to be stopped before he fully unleashes a 21st-century version of ‘The State of Nature' and soon! We in Tigray are doing our part, " he said.

"The crumbling regime of Abiy Ahmed apparently claims there is ongoing fighting in Dessie and Kombolcha and our forces are targeting youth. This is absolutely false. His forces are nowhere near and his generals are stampeding to make it to Addis. The only reason why they are making up."

In an interview with the BBC, Getachew Reda had earlier claimed Tigrayan forces and Oromo Liberation Army [OLA] are connected physically and have the same goal of capturing Addis Ababa. Fighting in Ethiopia has been going on for the last 12 months.

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