Tigray rebels standing firm against Ethiopian advance, says leader

Tigrayan forces fighting Ethiopian government troops are standing firm on the southern front and engaging soldiers round the town of Adigrat to the north, said Debretsion Gebremichael, head of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, via text message. Reuters could not verify the latest statements on the fighting from both sides.

Tigrayan forces fighting Ethiopian government troops are standing firm on the southern front and engaging soldiers round the town of Adigrat to the north, said Debretsion Gebremichael, head of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, via text message. The Tigrayan forces have dug up roads, destroyed bridges and booby-trapped roads with explosives in the south, but federal troops are making progress, said Redwan Hussein, spokesman for a government taskforce on Tigray.

Redwan said some Tigrayan fighters or militiamen escaped into the community after soldiers took Adigrat on Saturday. Reuters could not verify the latest statements on the fighting from both sides. Information on the fighting is patchy and claims by all sides are hard to verify because phone and internet communication to the region has been down since the war began.